Lull in Iraq violence sparks wedding storm

BAGHDAD: Iraq has seen a surge in lavish weddings during what has been the country's most festive and peaceful Muslim holiday in years, with party-goers shrugging off security worries and dancing late into the night.

Some 630 couples married at Baghdad's six fanciest hotels during Eid al-Fitr, the week-long holiday after the holy month of Ramadan, the Tourism and Antiquities Ministry said, about the same as the total number wed at such hotels in July and August.

The Eid celebration marked an end to the quietest Ramadan in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003 plunged the country into more than six years of insurgency and bloodshed.