This reads like a Mideast spaghetti western. It is the story of Abu Abed and how he initiated the first jihad against al-Qaeda:

One morning in late May, a former Iraqi military intelligence officer working as an American double agent walked up to the al-Qaeda ruler of west Baghdad. The exchange of words, then bullets, that followed has transformed the most volatile neighbourhood of Baghdad into an unexpected haven of calm.

It may, according to US officers, be one of the most significant gunfights since the 2003 invasion, and its ripples across Baghdad are bringing local Sunni and Shia men together to fight terrorists and militia in other neighbourhoods.

The showdown went like this: “Hajji Sabah, isn’t it time you stopped already?” Abu Abed al-Obeidi, a diminutive 37-year-old with a drooping moustache, tired eyes and a ready smile, said. “You have destroyed Amariyah,” he added, referring to the neighbourhood.

“Who are you?” Sabah, the Islamist emir, sneered. “We’re al-Qaeda. I’ll kill you all and raze your homes.”

“You can try,” Mr al-Obeidi said.

The emir reached for his pistol. He was faster than Mr al-Obeidi, but his Glock 9mm jammed. As he turned to run, Mr al-Obeidi emptied his pistol into his back. His assault on al-Qaeda had begun.

The only thing missing is a tumbleweed blowing through the scene. This is what people are attributing the birth of the Sunni Awakening too. Some look on Abu Abed as a hero, and for good reason:

The recent turning of Sunni tribes and insurgents against al-Qaeda in western Iraq and Baghdad has become known as the Sunni Awakening. Here, however, it is more of a national awakening — Mr al-Obeidi’s 600- man force includes disillusioned Shia soldiers as well as Sunni former officers who had worked secretly for the US.

The Shia population of Amariyah, driven out by Sunni extremists, has started to return. “I wish we had a dozen Abu Abeds,” Abdelrazaq Abu Muhammad, a 66-year-old Shia who was chased from Amariyah by alQaeda and returned a couple of weeks ago, said. “He is working round the clock, watching and guarding.”

A retired schoolteacher, Umm Ahmed, a Shia woman who fled a year ago, said: “Everything we have now we owe to Abu Abed. This was the first place to be saved by a hero like Abu Abed.”

Among his men there is open hero-worship, with aides tripping over one another to light his steady stream of cigarettes or to patrol the streets with him.

Does that worry anyone else? There is a short walk from hero/leader to head trip/dictator. But for now, this guy seems to be working for a al-Qaeda free Iraq.