Dora, Baghdad

Dora الدورة
Neighborhood of Baghdad
Country	Iraq
Governorate	Baghdad Governorate
City	Baghdad

Dora (also Al Dura,Arabic,الدورة) is a neighborhood in Rasheed administrative district, southern Baghdad, Iraq. It is primarily Sunni, hundreds of Christian,Shia and Mandaic families have fled since late 2006 due to de facto Islamist control. It was a former Al-Qaeda stronghold and was once labelled by the Americans as "the most dangerous place in Iraq" until they were driven out.

In the early morning of March 19, 2003, Dora became the first victim of the air assault by U.S. forces during the Invasion of Iraq. The attempted assassination of Saddam Hussein and his sons Uday and Qusay failed, but resulted in the death of one civilian and injuries to fourteen others, including one child. (see Dora Farms strike)

By May 2007 Dora was receiving mainstream media attention as hornet's nest of sectarian violence, particularly for its anti-Christian violence. Christians were seen as 'soft targets' who would either pay or leave Dora rather than retaliate.

In November 2007, Assyrian churches in Dora were re-opened when Al-Qaida militias were kicked out of Dora by the soldiers of the Iraqi security forces and 2-12 Infantry Battalion.

In September 2008 a BBC Newsnight report revealed that the daily conditions in Dora had improved massively within the space of a year and the relationship between American soldiers on patrol there and the general public was no longer a hostile one. U.S. troops are expected to be completely taken out of Dora within a year, and the report revealed that both the U.S. army and the public showed concerns about what will happen once they leave and whether it will retain its current state of relative peace.