Iraq's national football team has beaten Palestine 4-nil in their first international match in Baghdad since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
Baghdad's Shaab stadium, which seats about 45 thousand people, was full to bursting point with jubilant Iraqis waving flags and cheering on their national side, although few Palestinians made it to the game.
Some fans sat next to the goals at both ends of the pitch until Iraqi security forces cleared them away.
Iraq hopes to convince FIFA the country is safe enough to host official soccer matches again.
Iraqi soccer players, like many Iraqi athletes, have sometimes been targeted by militants and criminals.
In March 2008, gunmen killed a local team coach and ex-footballer Munther Khalaf outside his home. An Iraqi soccer fan shot dead a player of an opposing local team during a match in March 2009 in the town of Hilla, south of Baghdad.
Iraqis love football. Their team were the surprise winners of the 2007 Asian Cup. The victory brought rare unity to nation riven by sectarian war, with Shi'ites, Sunnis and Kurds pouring onto the streets to celebrate a 1-nil win over Saudi Arabia.
