Jubilant Iraqis hail soccer team success

BAGHDAD — Police danced at checkpoints and gunmen fired their weapons in celebration Saturday as thousands of jubilant Iraqis poured into the streets of Baghdad after their national soccer team's 2-0 victory over Vietnam in a quarterfinal match of the Asia Cup in Bangkok, Thailand.

The impromptu citywide parade lifted the capital's wartime gloom and let Iraqis forget momentarily the daily frustrations of their lives.

Families spent precious gasoline cruising up and down the main street in the central neighborhood of Karrada. Taxi drivers honked their horns and blasted patriotic music. Children, typically shut indoors for their protection, whooped and jumped in the middle of intersections. Iraqi women trilled from balconies, while throngs of ecstatic young men peeled off their shirts and waved them in the air.

"All this is not only for the game — it's for the wounds of Iraq," said Sahar Abd Ali, a beaming 40-year-old who strolled among the celebrants. "God willing, this shows that even those deep wounds can be healed."

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki praised "the brave lions of Mesopotamia" and the embattled Iraqi parliament blessed the players in a session before the game.

The U.S. military also rooted for the home team in Wednesday's semifinals in Kuala Lumpur. "Good luck against the winner of the second-round quarterfinals team, neighboring Iran or the Republic of Korea!" a U.S. statement said.

Sporadic bursts of celebratory gunfire sounded even before the game had ended, and erupted into a full-scale symphony once the clock had run out.

The rat-a-tat-tat of machine guns was drowned out by the thundering booms of larger weapons. Iraqi authorities said at least two people were killed and 50 injured by stray bullets.