Look who's reporting good news from Iraq...

Why it's none other than Al-Jazeera:

The guns in the city of Hiyt in Iraq's western province of Anbar have finally fallen silent, thanks to the efforts of local administrators and security force.

Not only are the streets safer, but since March 15, some 500 residents of this former Sunni insurgency stronghold have joined hands with the Anbar Salvation Council to help fight al-Qaeda.

On April 4, Hiyt was even able to hold peaceful elections - for a municipal council that has already gotten to work. As Al-Jazeera reports:

The council has also seen to the reopening of schools for girls, which had been closed down by the al-Qaeda-led Islamic State of Iraq, the self-styled Islamist government set up by the group.

Anbar University is also expected to reopen in the near future, the council told residents.

Internet cafes, which have been targeted throughout most of Iraq, quickly took advantage of the new security environment and reopened.

The optimism seems palpable:

"No more military operations," said a man on his way to market.

"Now people in the city have started to forget the sounds of mortars and explosions."