Public sports in post-war Iraq

An Iraqi youth trains at a gymnasium on the outskirts of the southern city of Karbala, some 110 kms from Baghdad, on July 12, 2009. The club, which is popular during the summer school holidays, is frequented by boys and girls, providing gymnastic lessons to children and teenagers up to the ages of 19 years old. [Photo/icpress]

Iraqi bodybuilders flex their muscles during a bodybuilding contest held at a local gym in Baghdad, on July 4, 2008. After an absence of several years due to the security situation in the Iraqi capital, the sport of buildbuilding has re-emerged, supported by a large turnout of young Iraqi athletes devoted to the sport. [Photo/icpress]