Iraq reopens Baghdad’s Green Zone to ease traffic jams

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi authorities have reopened Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone in an attempt to ease traffic jams in the capital. The heavily fortified area was closed and opened several times over the past years. Starting in the early hours of Sunday, Iraqi authorities removed checkpoints and opened major roads and tunnels that cut through the Green Zone on the west bank of the Tigris River. The 4-square mile (10-square kilometer) zone with its palm trees and monuments has been mostly off limits to the public since the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq to topple President Saddam Hussein. It was reopened for the first time in 2019.