Pictures of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and portraits of revered Shiite martyrs grace street lights and shop windows along the area's main commercial street, and nearby Sunni mosques have been abandoned.
But on this night, groups of teenagers ride down the streets on motorbikes, honking their horns, waving Iraqi flags and shouting for joy.
Others march down the streets beating drums and a group of around 40 revellers temporarily stops traffic.
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