Lost in the news last week was the import of the Sunni/Qaeda destruction of "Jisr al-Hadeed", the iron bridge, that appears to have been of great sentimental importance to many Iraqis. Omar Fadhil at ITM writes:
I have many beautiful memories of Jisr al-Hadeed; memories of how many times I sat in that coffee shop and stared at the glittering reflections of its lights on the water, of how many evenings I sat under it with friends. When we were young and couldn’t drink at home, the Nazla (the river bank immediately under the bridge) was one of our favorite spots. Once there we’d drink cold beers in hot summer nights, with the sound of the slow and small waves of the Tigris as our music….
The terrorists wanted to stop normal life with this attack and they succeeded. Transportation between Karkh and Rasafa just got more difficult than ever. In addition, many people will avoid being on bridges for fear of similar attacks in the future. Technically, the northern half of the city is now left with no usable bridges. Those in the southern half are either too far for most Baghdadis, closed, or have a dangerous spot at one of their ends.
Heart-breaking, like so much else in that country right now.