I'm currently deployed to Iraq, and just off the base is a mall annex that was apparently abandoned during the initial invasion into Iraq when it was bombed. Now we use it to pull guard on the area around the base. Although it is off the base, it is in a compound that is locked up with 16+ foot t-walls surrounding it, and there's 2 entrances to the compound which are both locked at all times. The building is essentially 6 stories, but only has 4 floors (counting ground level) and then a ladder to get to the rooftop from the 3rd floor. A couple sections to the mall are blocked off with concertina wire and there is only 2 entrances into this building that haven't been blown up. 1 is a door we keep locked at all times, the other is in the center of the building, the 'main entrance', but it's so riddled with concertina wire that there's no possible way a person could get in there.

I have heard stories from a couple people saying they heard faint screaming noises coming from the 2nd floor when they were walking up the stairs to the roof. They checked out the 2nd floor but there was nothing but some trash, rats, and a couple smashed bottles of whiskey. I've been going up those stairs everyday for the last 3 months now and haven't heard anything. That is, until just the other day. We (my Sergeant, 3 other soldiers and myself) were going up the stairs, and before we even got to the 1st floor when my Sergeant and I heard a VERY faint sound. It sounded like someone dragging the barrel to a M2 .50 caliber machine gun across the concrete. The other guys were just catching up to us and they didn't hear it. By the time they caught up, the noise went away, so we just blew it off and kept going.A little further up the stairs, my Sergeant and I heard the same thing just a wee bit louder. We could tell it was coming from above us, just not exactly sure where. The noise went away again by the time the other soldiers caught up to us. We got to the landing at the 3rd floor and we heard it again, plain as day. It definitely sounded like a barrel dragging across the concrete. The other 3 soldiers heard it to, and we could tell it was coming from the 4th floor. So we threw on our NVG's (Night Vision Goggles) and flipped our flashlights on our M4's over to IR so we could see the light with the NVG's, but the naked eye wouldn't see anything. We got halfway between the 3rd and 4th floor and heard it again. This time, I was legitimately scared. Nobody was supposed to be in that building except us, and if they went through the hassle to get in, 5 soldiers wouldn't be able to stop them. The hair on the back of my neck started to stand up and I could just feel the fear pumping through my veins. I shouldered my M4 and followed my Sergeant to the landing on the 4th floor. We heard it again, we could tell it was off to the right of us, so we started clearing the rooms off to the right first. We ended up clearing the whole floor, and nothing was there yet I still felt really uncomfortable, all I wanted to do was get out of there and just go up to the roof.

That was maybe 3-4 days ago. We haven't heard anything since, I haven't gotten that scared feeling since then either. I was going to go back and take some pictures but until we close everything down, that building is considered to be confidential and I'm not allowed to be taking pictures of it, much less splattering it on the internet.

Do you guys think this could have been a ghost or something? The only semi-logical explanation I could find for these noises would be something in the elevator shaft, but I ruled that out because the elevator is on the other side of the building from where these noises were coming. I don't know if anyone has died in this building, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were people in the building when it was bombed. Also, this building is about 2 city blocks away from a building where the Iraqi's CIA used to torture people til they were almost dead. There is an underground tunnel going from that building to a hospital where they would take the beaten people for treatment so they could continue to torture them. I don't know where that tunnel goes, but if it goes under this old mall annex, do you think that could be the reason for this 'haunting'?

First allow me to say thanks for your service to the country. I would try to gather more info on the building and see what you come up with. please keep us posted when u find new info.