Iraq counts cost of stray bullets fired in anger or joy Celebratory gunfire and gun battles sometimes sparked by minor feuds are a daily occurrence in Iraq where firearms possession remains widespread despite a period of relative calm. Saad Abbas was in his garden in Baghdad when he was jolted by a sharp, searing pain in his shoulder. "At first, I thought someone had hit me with a stone," the 59-year-old said, before realising that a bullet had hit him.