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Some Iraqis remain in Damascus despite war

Many Iraqis who live in Syria prefer to stay despite the war, because they consider the killings in Baghdad to be more "random."

Security and residents inspect the site where a car bomb exploded in front of the gold-domed Shi'ite shrine of Sayyida Zeinab in southern Damascus, June 14, 2012. A car bomb exploded in a car park in southern Damascus, near the gold-domed Shi'ite shrine of Sayyida Zeinab, activists and state media said.The powerful blast caused a deep crater in the tarmac and wrecked several buses, smashing windows of cars across a wide area. Two people were wounded, state news agency SANA reported. REUTERS/Sana/Handout (SY
Security and residents inspect the site where a car bomb exploded in front of the gold-domed Shiite shrine of Sayyida Zeinab in southern Damascus, June 14, 2012. — REUTERS/Sana

Despite the fighting, security deterioration and power outages in the Syrian capital Damascus, Iraqis living there prefer to stay where they are rather than return to Iraq.

Ahmed al-Samarrai keeps calling his sister Bushra, who has been living in Damascus since 2006, to convince her to return to Baghdad. Yet, she keeps refusing.

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