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"On a recent Friday morning in west Baghdad, 20 of Hajji Abu Abed's men were shifting their feet nervously in the dusty yard outside his house as they waited for their leader to emerge.
The men, young and well armed with Kalashnikovs, pistols and hand grenades, were wearing the favoured dress for militiamen in Iraq these days: green camouflage commando uniforms decorated with bits of US army kit - a pouch on one man, webbing on another, a cap here, sunglasses there, a few flak jackets between them. Some bore the insignia of Iraqi army officers.
Around noon, a fighter came running from the large house across the street and shouted: "The Hajji is coming!"
Meet Abu Abed: the US's new ally against al-Qaida | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited
The men, young and well armed with Kalashnikovs, pistols and hand grenades, were wearing the favoured dress for militiamen in Iraq these days: green camouflage commando uniforms decorated with bits of US army kit - a pouch on one man, webbing on another, a cap here, sunglasses there, a few flak jackets between them. Some bore the insignia of Iraqi army officers.
Around noon, a fighter came running from the large house across the street and shouted: "The Hajji is coming!"
Meet Abu Abed: the US's new ally against al-Qaida | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited