"The wolves are fierce because of hunger and thirst that plagued them," said Abu Kaheela, the vet. "That is why they began showing no fear."
Children began likening the wolves to Saloueh, a witch in Iraqi fairy tales. Locals worried that the animals might attack women and children.
"I have passed 60 years and I have never seen such wolves!" exclaimed Ugla Mohammed, a farmer wearing a full ammunition belt and carrying a rifle in his hand. "They are vicious and stubborn grays."
One old-timer, Fadhel abu Reesha, recalled that in the 1950s lone wolves were frequently spotted coming into villages, then escaping as they were confronted by farmers. They headed back, he said, into the barren lands near the Saudi border.
Today's wolves, farmers said, seem more brazen.
Hussein Dakhel said a pack of a dozen wolves devoured five of his sheep, acting largely undisturbed as he fired gunshots into the air.
"We thought that wolves would run if they hear the sound of man or weapons," he said. "I don't know what kind of species this is."
To fight the wolves, residents set up positions just beyond their hamlets and armed themselves with assault rifles and pistols. Determined fighters gathered at night, awaiting the wolf packs. They spread out in every direction. They waited and watched.
Mohammed abu Reesha, among the many residents belonging to the Abu Reesha clan, and his neighbors confronted a pack of 10 wolves after the animals attacked Adnan Ismael's home, killing eight of his goats.
"We opened intense fire and killed two of them," Mohammed abu Reesha said.
In the village of Hamidiya, wolves attacked farmer Mohammed Salim's cows. He shot at one wolf from 100 yards away.
"I hit him, but he started coming toward me, not caring about his injury," he said.
"I answered him, along with my uncle, with a barrage of bullets and he dropped dead two yards from us," he said. "Since that day we are committed to guarding the house in case any of them might come back."
A video taken by a cellphone shows the bloody remains of one wolf, its side shot out and its mouth draped open, lying lifeless on the desert floor. Its eyes, whatever the color at the time of death, were shut tight.
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daragahi@latimes.com
Special correspondent Halawa reported from Samawah and Times staff writer Daragahi from Baghdad.
