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Photos: Hiding the scars of war with tattoos in Iraq

In 2008, Iraqi soldier Saad Khudeir lost his fiancee and suffered burns on his body when a car bomb went off near his home in Sadr City. Four years later, he endured burns on nearly 70% of his body when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into his convoy in the then restive city of Fallujah. Khudeir survived both bombings, but was left with gruesome scars. Over four years and $2500 later, he is among a small minority in Iraq who have turned to tattoos in remembrance of their losses and masking the scars left behind.

Updated on: Dec 09, 2018 5:31 PM IST

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Iraqi soldier Saad Khudeir displays his tattoo on his body that cover scars sustained by burns he suffered from a car bomb, in Baghdad, Iraq. The tattoos across Khudeir’s body conceal the Iraqi soldier’s scars and reveal his unseen wounds. (Hadi Mizban / AP)

Updated on Dec 09, 2018 5:31 PM

Iraqi soldier Saad Khudeir displays his tattoo on his body that cover scars sustained by burns he suffered from a car bomb, in Baghdad, Iraq. The tattoos across Khudeir’s body conceal the Iraqi soldier’s scars and reveal his unseen wounds. (Hadi Mizban / AP)

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Khudeir displays his tattooed back, in Baghdad. The face of his fiancee, who was killed in a car bomb near his Baghdad home in 2008, looks up from his right arm. Four years later, a suicide bomber rammed his army convoy in Fallujah, leaving burns across 70% of his body. (Hadi Mizban / AP)

Updated on Dec 09, 2018 5:31 PM

Khudeir displays his tattooed back, in Baghdad. The face of his fiancee, who was killed in a car bomb near his Baghdad home in 2008, looks up from his right arm. Four years later, a suicide bomber rammed his army convoy in Fallujah, leaving burns across 70% of his body. (Hadi Mizban / AP)

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A man gets a tattoo on his arm in a tattoo studio in Baghdad, Iraq. Years of war and unrest have inflicted physical and emotional scars on countless Iraqis. Aboud Abbas, who owns a tattoo studio in Baghdad, said around 20 people have come in this year asking for tattoos to conceal their scars, a 30 percent increase from last year. (Hadi Mizban / AP)

Updated on Dec 09, 2018 5:31 PM

A man gets a tattoo on his arm in a tattoo studio in Baghdad, Iraq. Years of war and unrest have inflicted physical and emotional scars on countless Iraqis. Aboud Abbas, who owns a tattoo studio in Baghdad, said around 20 people have come in this year asking for tattoos to conceal their scars, a 30 percent increase from last year. (Hadi Mizban / AP)

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“The flames express the fire still raging inside me for my loss.” Khudeir survived both bombings, but was left with gruesome scars. “People stared at me, and sometimes I felt they were scared of me at the swimming pool,” the 36-year-old said. Over a period of four years he spent some $2,500 on tattoos, which now cover most of his body. (Hadi Mizban / AP)

Updated on Dec 09, 2018 5:31 PM

“The flames express the fire still raging inside me for my loss.” Khudeir survived both bombings, but was left with gruesome scars. “People stared at me, and sometimes I felt they were scared of me at the swimming pool,” the 36-year-old said. Over a period of four years he spent some $2,500 on tattoos, which now cover most of his body. (Hadi Mizban / AP)

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Iraqi soldier Ziad Emad gets a tattoo on his arm to cover wounds he suffered in the battle to oust the Islamic State group from Mosul. There is a cross and a staircase, and above it a man representing Jesus flanked by two angels. There are flames and Japanese letters. “Through Christian icons, I want to say that there is no difference between Muslims and Christians,” said Khudeir, who is a Muslim. (Hadi Mizban / AP)

Updated on Dec 09, 2018 5:31 PM

Iraqi soldier Ziad Emad gets a tattoo on his arm to cover wounds he suffered in the battle to oust the Islamic State group from Mosul. There is a cross and a staircase, and above it a man representing Jesus flanked by two angels. There are flames and Japanese letters. “Through Christian icons, I want to say that there is no difference between Muslims and Christians,” said Khudeir, who is a Muslim. (Hadi Mizban / AP)

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Zuhair Atwan displays tattoo of his brother, who was killed in sectarian violence, in a tattoo studio in Baghdad. The Arabic sentence on his arm reads, “Oh life, where is my brother? Your absence hurts me, oh Abbas.” (Hadi Mizban / AP)

Updated on Dec 09, 2018 5:31 PM

Zuhair Atwan displays tattoo of his brother, who was killed in sectarian violence, in a tattoo studio in Baghdad. The Arabic sentence on his arm reads, “Oh life, where is my brother? Your absence hurts me, oh Abbas.” (Hadi Mizban / AP)

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