FALLUJAH, IRAQ - When insurgents hid a bomb in front of his house a few days ago, intending to use it against U.S. or Iraqi troops, Majeed al-Rawi had only one option: Move out.
"If I report it to the Americans, I will be killed by the men who put it there, and if I don't, my family will be killed either by the explosion or the Americans," the car dealer said. "This is not a way to live; this is a way to hate life."
Two years after U.S. troops launched a devastating ground assault that purged, at least temporarily, the heart of the Iraqi insurgency, Fallujah once again is a violent place.
In recent months, insurgents have filtered back into the city, despite tight controls that limit access to only six checkpoints. Residents must submit to an extraordinary identification system that includes fingerprinting, retina scans and bar-coded identification cards.
An insurgent intimidation campaign has killed two City Council members and at least 30 police officers.
The campaign has been so effective that police patrols have all but stopped, as officers fear to walk the streets.
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