After a long and grim period in which weddings and parties have generally been outnumbered by funerals, bookings are finally on the up again for Haider Salah, one of Baghdad's liveliest and loudest mobile disc jockeys.

Last Thursday, at a private club overlooking the Tigris, his huge outdoor speakers were booming Arab pop music across the riverbanks - where, five years ago this week, an even heavier baseline resounded as the opening salvoes of Operation Shock and Awe, the coalition bombing campaign to remove Saddam Hussein, got under way.

The club's various guests - two groups of students holding graduation celebrations, and a wedding party - were not the only ones in a good mood.