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You won’t believe what these Iraqi taxi drivers are using to prevent carjackings

In Iraq, organized crime is proliferating in light of lax security measures, a fragile political situation and control by the Islamic State of large swaths of territory.
An Iraqi soldier stands guard near a goldsmith's shop after an attack during a robbery in Baghdad October 17, 2010. At least 12 people died when gunmen swooped down on a row of goldsmiths' shops in a brazen midday robbery in the Iraqi capital on Sunday and ended up in a gunfight with security forces, police and military sources said. REUTERS/Saad Shalash (IRAQ - Tags: CONFLICT MILITARY CRIME LAW IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTXTJ7I

BAGHDAD — Video footage of an armed group robbing a man of his car in broad daylight went viral on social networking sites Nov. 23. The incident happened on Palestine Street in the center of the Iraqi capital, a heavily populated and high traffic area.

The video is just one example of dozens of criminal acts committed on the streets of Iraq on a daily basis, to the extent that they have become part of the daily life of citizens. Since the end of 2014, the people of Baghdad have reported increasing crime, especially cases of citizens being kidnapped or robbed of their belongings or cars on public roads.

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