Iraq's victorious football team were swept up in triumph onto the shoulders of well-wishers after flying home to Baghdad after winning the Asian Cup.
A small crowd gathered at Baghdad's international airport to greet the government-charter Iraqi Airways Boeing 737 bringing the players home from Jordan.
Maximum security was in place at the airport to guard against the kind of attacks that killed 50 people after the team's semi-final win.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office said a reception would be held inside Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, the often-shelled city district that houses the Iraqi government and US embassy.
Although the weekly Friday curfew was lifted at 3pm, few ordinary Iraqis were likely to venture out or even be invited to the celebrations.
Some extremists did not share the joy in the performance of the team, which counts players from all of Iraq's bitterly divided communities.
Bombers attacked crowds of celebrating fans after Iraq’s semi-final win over South Korea, killing at least 50 people.
Seven members of the team, including skipper Yunis Mahmoud whose late header clinched Sunday's final, were absent from the celebrations today.
Mr Mahmoud was going to Damascus to see his family, who are among the four million Iraqis to have fled the violence since the 2003 US-led invasion.
But after clinching the Asian Cup, Mr Mahmoud said he feared death if he joined a victory parade through the Iraqi capital.
‘I wish I could go back to Baghdad to celebrate, but who will secure my life?’ he said.
