Obstruct idiot grabbing copper in war-torn city (8)
I believe the answer is:
damascus
'war-torn city' is the definition.
(city in Syria)
'obstruct idiot grabbing copper' is the wordplay.
'obstruct' becomes 'dam' (damming is a kind of obstructing).
'idiot' becomes 'ass' (both can mean a stupid person).
'grabbing' is an insertion indicator.
'copper' becomes 'Cu' (Cu is the chemical symbol for copper).
'ass' going around 'cu' is 'ascus'.
'dam'+'ascus'='DAMASCUS'
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for damascus that I've seen before include "Pauline conversion on the road to here" , "Capital of Syria" , "Couple" , "St Paul was converted on the road to this Syrian city" , "ancient city" .)