A portly Shiite cleric, Abu Qusai sheds his black robe for a training suit and exchanges his white turban for a baseball cap, an effort to mask his identity for a risky trip through what has become known as the “triangle of death.” The region has become a death zone for many Shiite Muslims, Westerners and members of the Iraqi security services, many of whom have become the victims of Sunni Muslim insurgents and gunmen – some who receive bounties of several thousand dollars. The triangle, formed by the cities of Youssifiyah to the northwest, Latifiyah to the south and Mahmoudiya to the east, holds the fastest routes from Baghdad southward to the Shiite shrines in Najaf and Karbala. The area is no less dangerous for foreigners than the better known insurgent strongholds west of the capital, including Fallujah and Ramadi. Full Story
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