A large weapons cache has been uncovered close to the Palestine Hotel where many western journalists have been staying in Baghdad. The cache was said to have ben pointed out to coalition troops by local people and the building is understood to have been a regular house used by the Iraqi military. The building has since been looted by locals. It has now been seized by the US military who are expected to bulldoze it or blow it up. The Iraqi capital remains tense with sporadic fire and heavy military presence around the Palestine Hotel. Meanwhile the first Catholic mass has been celebrated in Baghdad since the city fell. Up to one hundred people attended the service at the Church of Virgin Mary Karada in central Baghdad. Also in central Baghdad Iraqis met to start rebuilding their city and its infrastructure. A handful of US Marine civil affairs officers had summoned groups of Iraqi water electrical and police civil servants to the Palestine Hotel where US forces more or less have set up a base. The hotel was packed with civilians along with members from the old regime who were keen to restore some sense of order and government to Iraq. At an initial briefing the civilians were told by one of the Iraqi organisers that all the other major cities in the country have been liberated and were now looking to Baghdad as to the way forward. But one participant found it difficult to work with those who had belonged to Saddam Hussein s government. The man shouted at police officers who were at the meeting saying We don t need you...you are full of wrong-doing. Tensions were also high outside the hotel where a group of civilians had gathered. Despite the tensions Iraqi civil servants at the meeting divided themselves into groups based on their specific skills as the first step in restoring structure to a city and country in chaos. Meanwhile the Iraqi Trade Ministry was in flames as looting continued in pockets of Baghdad - with the people expressing their hatred of all the former symbols of power. Close to the burning building a US Marine division captured a small group believed to be Saddam s Fedayeen fighters. The PoW s were interrogated by the American soldiers as they sat handcuffed and blindfolded on the ground. Marines also discovered a cache of rifles rocket propelled grenades and bazookas.

• published: 14 Sep 2013
• views: 2