The city has been hit by nearly four decades of conflict, from a devastating war with Iran in the 1980s to the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.Sectarian warfare followed, then the onslaught of the Islamic State group in 2014, only defeated territorially in late 2017. Friday’s festival was the latest indication that Iraq is entering a phase of relative stability, with blast walls and checkpoints coming down across the capital.
