Roaring along Baghdad's highways, "Iraq Bikers" are doing more than showing-off their love of outsized motorcycles and black leather: they want their shared enthusiasm to help heal Iraq's deep sectarian rifts. Weaving in and out-of-traffic, only the lucky few ride Harley Davidsons a rare and expensive brand in Iraq while others make do with bikes pimped-up to look something like "Easy Rider" dream machines.

Since jihadists were ousted from Mosul last year, taxi driver Abu Aref has ferried more than just people into Iraq's second city: he regularly smuggles envelopes stuffed with cash. This is how salaries are paid and bills settled in the northern metropolis, despite the banks reopening since Iraqi forces seized it back last-year from the Islamic State group after three years of jihadist rule.