Iraq Photos: Aug. 18-Aug. 24

A band plays during the funeral of Kamil Shiya, an adviser to Iraqi Culture Minister Mahir al-Hadithi, in eastern Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008. Shiya was killed Saturday in a roadside ambush involving two cars along a main thoroughfare in eastern Baghdad which also wounded a bodyguard, according to police and hospital officials.

Riot-control police provide security during the football final between Irbil Sports Club and al-Zawra Sports Club in the Iraqi Championship of Elite Clubs, at the al-Shaab stadium in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008. The Kurdish team of Irbil defeated Al-Zawra 1-0.

Iraqi police display weapons they say were confiscated during operations over the last week, at the headquarters of the Iraqi Police 7th Brigade, in the Dora neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008.

U.S. Army soldiers, center, and Iraqi police, right, provide security during the re-opening of a neighborhood that had been abandoned by citizens because of sectarian violence, in the Dora area of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008.

A British Army soldier patrols on the streets of the southern city of Basra in Iraq, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008, a day after gunmen killed a Shiite cleric and outspoken critic of sectarian militias in a Saturday ambush on a car that also carried the victim's wife, mother and sister, police said Sunday.

Worshippers, one holding a placard showing anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, demonstrate against Condoleezza Rice's visit to the country and against a possible deal setting a course for American combat troops to pull out of Iraqi cities, after traditional Muslim Friday prayers in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Aug. 22, 2008.

Curious children look on as Iraqi Army soldiers conduct a search operation in the Baiyaa neighborhood of west Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Aug. 22, 2008.

An Iraqi Army soldier examines the lease documents of a woman in the Baiyaa neighborhood of west Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Aug. 22, 2008. Iraqi Army soldiers conducted a search operation in the area Friday, looking for illegal weapons and people illegally occupying the houses of those who have been displaced.

Iraqi army soldiers detain a man they allege is on a wanted list, who a returning resident accused of killing her son, during an operation to enable displaced families to return to their homes, in the Tabook neighborhood of west Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008.

A U.S. Army soldier, left, and Iraqi Army soldier, right, stand in front of shuttered shopfronts during a raid in west Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008.

The wife and children cry out as the father of the family is detained as a suspect by Iraqi army soldiers, backed up by U.S. military, during a raid in west Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008.

The wife, second right, cries out as her husband, center, is detained as a suspect by Iraqi army soldiers, backed up by U.S. military, during a raid in west Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008.

Mourners grieve at the funeral of U.S.-allied Sunni leader Farooq al-Obeidi, deputy leader of the local awakening council, in the Azamiyah area of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Aug. 18, 2008.

Mourners grieve over a coffin, wrapped in an Iraqi flag and a photo of the deceased, at the funeral of U.S.-allied Sunni leader Farooq al-Obeidi, deputy leader of the local awakening council in the Azamiyah area of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Aug. 18, 2008.

Mourners attend the funeral of U.S.-allied Sunni leader Farooq al-Obeidi, deputy leader of the local awakening council in the Azamiyah area of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Aug. 18, 2008.

A U.S. army soldier from Eagle Company, 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment searches a house in Baqouba, the capital of Iraq's Diyala province, some 45 miles northeast of Baghdad, Monday, Aug. 18, 2008.

Security forces attend the scene of a roadside bomb in which at least two police officers and a civilian were wounded, in the Karada district of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Aug. 18, 2008. The blast targeted a police patrol, police said.

Children play as U.S. army soldiers from Eagle Company, 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment search their home in Baqouba, the capital of Iraq's Diyala province, some 45 miles northeast of Baghdad, Monday, Aug. 18, 2008.

Girls watch television as U.S. soldiers from Eagle Company, 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment search their home in Baqouba, the capital of Iraq's Diyala province, some 45 miles northeast of Baghdad, Monday, Aug. 18, 2008.

An Iraqi police officer sleeps at a checkpoint as U.S. army soldiers from Eagle Company, 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment patrol a street in Baqouba, the capital of Iraq's Diyala province, some 45 miles northeast of Baghdad, Monday, Aug. 18, 2008.