“I drove my brother Mahmoud, 23, to al-Aruba Square, where all the labourers gather waiting for someone to hire them. Then I went into one of the restaurants to have breakfast. I saw an American military convoy of two Humvees driving past. I remember saying to myself that it could be really dangerous if anybody tried to attack the Americans while 300 people were gathered in one place. I never imagined that my thoughts would become true seconds later.

“There was a very big explosion and all the windows of the restaurant were smashed and my leg was injured by the glass. I was really worried about my brother. The scene was horrible. The place was covered with blood. Dead bodies, body parts lay scattered everywhere. I saw many cars burning.

“I was shocked and even forgot about my brother and started helping others to rescue the survivors and clear the bodies. I found my brother and both his left arm and leg were broken, and despite that he helped me to transfer four wounded people into our car.

“I drove fast but was too late. By the time I reached the hospital, all four men were dead.”

Ahad Hussein, 19, came from al-Nasiriya to al-Aruba Square with his brother and cousin to look for work:

“There was a very big blast while I was standing there waiting. I was knocked unconscious and woke up here in the hospital and saw my cousin beside me.

“It took me a while to figure out where I was and what happened, then I asked about my brother. My cousin told me that he had been taken to another hospital as his injury was serious. I hope he is fine. We don’t have any relatives here and our family in Nasiriya must be very worried about us now.

“It really makes you sad and angry when you find yourself a target. You see your friends and relatives getting killed daily without knowing who is doing that and why. What happened was just part of the deteriorating situation in Iraq. After the fall of the regime we thought Iraq was going to be a big workshop, then we ended up in a situation which is ten times worse than it used to be under Saddam.”

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