Marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in Iraq, this year’s Eid al Fitr festival took place in an atmosphere of fear.<br /><br />Sunni militants edge ever closer to the capital and Baghdad’s morgues receive more victims of sectarian killings each week.<br /><br />Traditionally the festival is celebrated with thanksgiving, feasts and the exchange of gifts upon the sighting of the new moon.<br /><br />In Pakistan, Eid is being celebrated against the backdrop of a military operation in North Waziristan, and police are anticipating a wave of Taliban bomb attacks.<br /><br />They were on red alert, to ensure the festivities passed off peacefully.<br /><br />“The security arrangements were really very impressive. Thank Allah, we offered our prayers without any fear or security concerns. Everyone prayed in a very peaceful atmosphere,” explained Karachi shop owner, Mohammad Sadiq.<br /><br />Many of the prayers went out to fellow Muslims in Gaza, and the children who are now living on the front line of the conflict.
