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Muslim-majority Baghdad hit by string of liquor store blasts
AFP, BAGHDAD
Escalating attacks on the Iraqi capital’s few liquor stores have terrified shop-owners who fear hardline Islamists are flexing their muscle against alcohol consumption.
However, there might be a bigger story behind the Baghdad booze bombings, as some suspect turf wars for control of the lucrative niche trade in the Muslim-majority country.
Over the past two months, at least 14 alcohol shops across the city have been firebombed in the middle of the night or just before dawn, with three simultaneous attacks in different districts on Monday night alone.
Most businesses are run by Christians or Yazidis, minorities who for decades have been granted the licenses required to sell alcohol in broadly conservative Iraq.