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Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail Yahoo! Search Search: Sign InNew User? Sign Up News Home - Help Navigation Primary Navigation Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Top Stories Most Popular Secondary Navigation Asia Pacific World Search Search: Iraq's largest lake tranquil again with Qaeda gone AFP - Tuesday, March 31 LAKE THARTHAR, Iraq (AFP) - - The tranquil scene at Lake Tharthar, Iraq's largest stretch of water, belies its recent violent history as an Al-Qaeda stronghold until just six months ago. ADVERTISEMENT These days families gather round barbecues and fishermen work their nets where before bodies were often found floating in the shallows as local militias battled to oust the Islamist fighters. "It was a dream of ours to return. Now we can earn our daily bread again after three years of struggling to get by," said 54-year-old Khalid Ibrahim, wearing a white keffiyeh headdress, rubber boots and plastic overalls. The lake of more than 2,500 square kilometres (1,000 square miles) northwest of Baghdad was created under Iraq's monarchy in 1956 when a dam was built to regulate the flow of the Tigris river. Slap in the middle of Sunni territory, Lake Tharthar is in the Anbar desert between Fallujah and Ramadi -- and is an ideal base for anyone wanting to make a living through plunder. "At first the people from Al-Qaeda settled for confiscating some of our fish, which they then sold to buy weapons," Khalid Ibrahim said as he stepped from his boat, dripping with water. "Then they took away our livelihood by forbidding us to send fish to Baghdad, under the pretext we were going to sell it to 'Rafida'," a pejorative term used by Sunni extremists to describe Shiite Muslims. As Ibrahim spoke of those difficult times, his companions hauled their nets in towards the sandy shore. Numan Arak, another fisherman, said: "One day I and the other fishermen were stopped, and these people said that there'd be problems if I went to Baghdad again. So I stayed at home just doing nothing until the situation got better. "Thanks be to God, in the past month I've started working again and driving to wherever I want to sell my produce." Al-Qaeda militants sought sanctuary at the lake in the autumn of 2006 after they were forced out of other parts of Anbar province by tribal militias fed up with their demands. Their new base at Lake Tharthar enabled them to launch attacks on the motorway linking Baghdad to the north of the country, and also to carry out raids on major towns and villages. "Two members of my family were kidnapped and killed by terrorists. And the same misfortune happened to other local people who are still treated as missing," Arak said. "Six months ago the lake was a stronghold of terrorism and of Al-Qaeda in Iraq," according to Abu Faruk, a leader of the Sahwa militias which sprang up when many former insurgents changed sides to oppose Al-Qaeda. "To get rid of them we had to wage a fierce battle in Ain al-Helwah and Ain al-Fares" just south of the lake, he said. "They had built proper camps. We killed dozens of them and captured a large number, including many foreigners from Saudia Arabia, Syria and Algeria. We seized a large quantity of munitions and discovered bodies of torture victims. I'm sure there are many more," Abu Faruk added. But now Lake Tharthar is peaceful -- and lunchtime is approaching. Families have put up parasols, unfolded chairs and lit their braziers. Mohammed Jassem, from the nearby town of Samarra, said that after having to stay away from the lake for a long time, he now comes with a group twice a week, every Thursday and Friday. "We no longer have anything to fear. But I still can't stop thinking about those friends of mine who were either impatient or just foolhardy. They came back too soon for a picnic and simply disappeared." Email Story IM Story Printable View Blog This Recommend this article 0 users recommend Sign in to recommend this article » Most Recommended Stories » Related Articles: Entertainment & Lifestyle Madonna confirms her adoption push in MalawiAP - 1 hour 25 minutes ago Miley Cyrus: No more 'Hannah Montana' filmsAP - 2 hours 21 minutes ago US-ENTERTAINMENT SummaryReuters - Tuesday, March 31 Ballet performances to unspool for moviegoersReuters - Tuesday, March 31 Exhibition at Versailles on dazzle of court lifeAFP - Tuesday, March 31 Enlarge Photo US Marines look for weapons caches and signs of insurgency during an operation at Tharthar Lake, west of Baghdad Most Popular – Entertainment Viewed 100,000 secular Britons seek 'de-baptism' Prince William up for Afghanistan fight: report World auto shake-up leaves investors reeling Hot tea linked with throat cancer Obama offers tough love to US car giants View Complete List » Search: Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Top Stories Most Popular Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! 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