As 2011 ends, Iraqis confront their challenges with neither the presence of US troops, nor the shadow of Saddam Hussein, who was executed five years ago today. He had ruled since 1979, although he'd been a power player in the government since 1968. The American occupation ended officially on December 15, eight years after the 2003 invasion. Sectarian strife still plagues Iraq, and although the violence lessened from near-civil war levels in 2006, the pullout of American forces has seen a return of hostilities. While the number of American casualties of the occupation stands at 4,487, figures for Iraqi casualties have no such certainty. Some estimates put the figure as high as 100,000. Now conflicts new and old wait to be dealt with by a country free to decide its own fate for the first time in generations. Sectarian struggle, problems with water and electricity delivery, and war-ravaged infrastructure are just a few of the issues facing Iraqis today. Gathered here are recent images of Iraq as it looks ahead to 2012. The last four images are portraits by Reuters photographer Shannon Stapleton, who asked ordinary Iraqis for their thoughts on their future after the pullout of American forces. -- Lane Turner (36 photos total)
A man smokes a water pipe at a cafe on Mutanabi Street in Baghdad on December 9, 2011. (Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters)
A female taxi driver fetches a passenger in Arbil on November 19, 2011. Inspired by the success stories of the ladies' taxi services in Lebanon and Dubai, 25-year old civil engineer Lana Khoshabaan has recently started an all-women taxi firm, in the Kurdish city of Arbil. The black cars, imprinted with the words "PNK TAXI" are dispatched upon calls to pick up female passengers from all parts of Arbil. (Azad Lashkari/Reuters) #
Investors work the phones at the Iraq Stock Exchange during trading hours in Baghdad December 12, 2011. The Iraq Stock Exchange began its operations in June of 2004 and operates under the Iraq Securities Commission, an independent commission similar to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters) #
Bishop Shlemon Warduni gestures to a member of his congregation following Christmas day mass at the Virgin Mary Chaldean Christian church (Church of Our Lady of Sacred Heart) in Baghdad on December 25, 2011. Warduni estimates that Iraq's Christian population, put at between 800,000 to 1.2 million before the 2003 US-led invasion, had halved since then. (Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images) #
Women walk through a market in Falluja on December 6, 2011. As US forces pull out of Iraq, residents and officials there say they leave behind bullet-riddled homes, destroyed infrastructure and a worrying increase in birth defects and maladies in a city polluted by weapons and war chemicals. (Mohanned Faisal/Reuters) #
A boy stands near the site of a car bomb attack in Baghdad's Shaab District on December 22, 2011. The death toll from a series of bomb attacks in the Iraqi capital climbed to at least 40, with scores wounded. More than 10 explosions struck Baghdad in the first apparently coordinated attack on the capital since a crisis erupted between its Shiite-led government and Sunni rivals after the withdrawal of the last US troops. (Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters) #
Residents inspect a damaged church after a bomb attack in central Kirkuk on August 15, 2011. Iraqis are still troubled by almost daily bombings, attacks and killings that are as much a part of their lives as power shortages, security checkpoints and government food rations. (Ako Rasheed/Reuters) #
An Iraqi security force officer guards one of three suspects accused of taking part in the killing of Shiite Muslim pilgrims, on December 26, 2011, near Ramadi, in the Sunni Muslim dominated province of Anbar. The alleged planners and gunmen killed 22 pilgrims in September 2011 as they were traveling from Karbala, one of the holiest Shiite Muslim shrines to neighboring Syria. (Azhar Shallal/AFP/Getty Images) #
An Iraqi boy is taken away from a suspected militant who has been accused of killing his father at the height of the sectarian slaughter in 2006-07, during a presentation to the media at the Interior Ministry in Baghdad on November 21, 2011. A total of 22 suspected militants were presented to the media on Monday as they await their trial. (Saad Shalash/Reuters) #
A man excavates a newly-discovered mass grave in the desert of western Anbar province on April 14, 2011. Tens of thousands of Iraqis were killed or went missing in the sectarian conflict in 2006-2007 unleashed by the US-led invasion in 2003. Many of the missing were never found, and the excavation of mass graves that may provide answers for the relatives of the dead is considered a critical step in healing after years of war. (Ali al-Mashhadani/Reuters) #
Kharar Haider,12, a young student, poses for a portrait at a soccer field along the Tigris River across from the Green Zone in Baghdad on December 10, 2011. When asked, "What do you see for the future of Iraq now that the United States military is leaving the country ?'', Haider replied, "I don't think we will have more problems and it is better than when Saddam was here. We have no heating or light in school. I don't think that is going to get better." (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters) #
Roaua Mansour ,18, a mother, poses for a portrait in her home in Baghdad on December 11, 2011. When asked, "What do you see for the future of Iraq now that the United States military is leaving the country?'', Mansour replied, "I was just a young girl when the Americans came. I used to walk with the US soldiers and take pictures with them and they talked with me. They gave me pencils, and school books. I hope things get better but security is still the main problem here." (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters) #
Ihab Najam, 23, an unemployed former security guard, poses for a portrait at his home in Baghdad on December 11, 2011. When asked, "What do you see for the future of Iraq now that the United States military is leaving the country?'', Najam replied, "I expect worse days to come now. When the Americans leave, the Iraqi army will not be able to fight al Queda. Even when the Americans were here they could not stop all the bombings, and neither will the Iraqis." (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters) #
Saad Moslem ,63, a fishmonger, poses for a portrait inside a fish market in Baghdad on December 10, 2011. When asked, "What do you see for the future of Iraq now that the United States military is leaving the country?'', Moslem replied, "Iraq is more stable now. I hope everything is going to be fine. All depends on God. In my neighborhood there is no electricity, no water. We have to buy water to drink. Hopefully nothing will happen." (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)#
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