Targeted by ID card

The news of death has become a part of the story of freedom and democracy in the new Iraq.

That's despite the fact that the government-owned media tries to avoid mentioning casualty figures, so as not to provoke the anger of the new government as it begins to form its cabinet.

The latest trend in killings means your name on an ID card might mean instant death.

'Death teams'

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POWER CUTS, RISING HEAT

The insurgent tactic of sabotaging electrical supplies is beginning to bite as temperatures climb here. Last week, two power stations which supply Baghdad were both down, one with technical problems and the other because surrounding power lines were blown up. The capital had less than three hours of power a day.

A small minority of Baghdad's 6 million people has generators but they are normally used only to keep refrigerators and TV sets running in homes that can afford them. They're also noisy. And they need constant topping up so they smell of fuel. It's uncomfortable to depend on them.

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Iraq's 'brain drain' continues

This morning while filming at a government department an Iraqi employee who introduced himself as Ahmed told me he'd just begun to work there after quitting his job at the police academy because it was too dangerous.

"We were three translators working for the American instructors," he said. "The other two were killed in a suicide bombing so I left and found work here. I want to live."

Fair enough. Not everyone believes that rebuilding Iraq is worth dying for. So how was the new job going?

"It's easy," he said. "But I want to go to England or the United States to study. I have a BA in English literature, but I want to study engineering. My wife has an MA but she wants a Ph.D. We want to leave here. There's no security. Iraq isn't going to get any better for at least another generation."

Hitting the road

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Slide Show

Life beyond the violence
Suicide attacks and murders due to sectarian conflict continue around Iraq. See how residents live their lives amid the attacks.