Iraqis Experience New Sense Of Normalcy In Baghdad Before Elections

BAGHDAD, IRAQ -- April 14: An Iraqi couple walks hand in hand as families visit the vast Baghdad Island amusement park on the northern outskirts of the capital, which was once a US military base referred to as "Bandit Island" set amid date palms riddled with Al Qaeda jihadists, as they experience a new sense of normal life in Baghdad, Iraq, on April 14, 2018. With the defeat of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq last year and a steep drop in attacks and civilian casualties in Baghdad, Iraqis say they feel the greatest sense of normalcy and safety since 2003, when US troops toppled Saddam Hussein. Positive changes have been palpable, with everything from more shops, start-up incubators and amusement parks, to more than 250 checkpoints removed, 800 roads opened and more than 73,000 chunks of concrete blast wall taken off city streets so far. (Photo by Scott Peterson/Getty Images)