Iraq lifts ancient curfew

One that was originally imposed by the US conquerors during the 10 year occupation.

The curfew, which most recently was in effect from midnight to 5:00am, ends a longstanding policy aimed at curbing attacks in the capital by limiting movement at night.

As midnight approached on Saturday, some Iraqis gathered at Tahrir Square where city officials were throwing a party.

And at the Mansour Mall, the biggest in the city, shops were staying open instead of closing at 11pm.

"It's a positive decision for our business and our work. The shops will stay open much later and of course we will benefit," Tariq al-Ameri, a dress shop owner, said.

Al Jazeera's Jane Arraf, reporting from Baghdad, said there was an upbeat mood in the city.

"For the first time in more than 10 years people will not have to rush home at midnight," she said.

"It isn't just the curfew that's been lifted. The prime minister has also ordered more roadblocks taken down. In some neighbourhoods there's a crackdown on arms carried by militias and a limit to the number of security vehicles officials can use."

The curfew, first imposed by the US military in 2003 and kept in place by the Iraqi government, has done little to curb the deadly bombings that plague the capital. Most are carried out during the day or early evening with the aim of causing maximum casualties.

How strangem ending a policy that has no useful purpose. They certainly didn't learn that from us.