Iraqis rally against U.S.

BAGHDAD, August 15 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - As American convoys twice came under attack west of Baghdad, thousands of Iraqi Shiite Muslims gathered Friday, August 15, in a poor suburb of the capital for special prayers to denounce a perceived U.S. army assault on their cherished faith.

"The incident Wednesday shows that this is a Jewish war against the Muslims," Sheikh Abdul Hadi al-Taraji told a congregation of more than 10,000 Shiites in the northeastern district of Sadr City.

Many beat their chests and waved red, black and green religious flags as they sat under a tower where an Iraqi was killed Wednesday when U.S. troops fired into a crowd of thousands of protestors.

Taraji denounced the U.S.-led coalition forces that ousted Saddam Hussein, saying they were interested only in Iraq's "strategic wealth".

But he told his followers not to take any action unless instructed to do so by the Hawza, the foremost religious authority of Iraq's Shiite community, which makes up some 60 percent of the 25-million population.

The top U.S. soldier in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, said Thursday his army had apologized to Shiite clerics over the clash, sparked when American troops in a helicopter apparently removed a religious flag from the communications tower in the predominantly Shiite suburb.

But Sanchez maintained that the helicopter had inadvertently blown down the flag and that soldiers had not removed it intentionally, as the protestors claimed.

Sanchez also claimed the Iraqi killed was a man who fired a rocket-propelled grenade at U.S. troops, but locals said the victim was a young boy.

Many residents of Sadr City saw the incident as an attack on their religion.

"We will fight against the enemies of the Prophet (Mohammed)," some chanted Friday as they sat on their prayer mats under a blazing midday sun, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“Down with U.S., down with Israel” – a graffiti on a wall in Sadr City

Taraji is close to Moqtada Sadr, one of the most outspoken voices of Shiite protest against the U.S. occupation of Iraq. He is arguably the most influential voice in Sadr City, but is said to have no such authority in the wider Shiite community.

"Under the orders of Moqtada, we will revolt as in 1922," chanted some of the followers, referring to a rebellion against the British forces then controlling Iraq.

The northeast Baghdad neighborhood of some two million people, previously called Saddam City, has been renamed after grand ayatollahs Mohammed Baqer al-Sadr and Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr, cousins who were killed by the old regime.

Moqtada is Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr's son.

"Long live the Hawza" was another slogan heard in Sadr City Friday.

The Hawza had Thursday dismissed a call attributed to Saddam urging them to declare holy war against the coalition.

Resistance Unabated

In the west of Baghdad, where attacks on U.S. troops are a daily occurrence, U.S. army convoys came under attack twice Friday morning and several soldiers were apparently wounded, witnesses said.

In the first incident, a convoy was ambushed on a highway between the flashpoint towns of Ramadi and Fallujah, an AFP correspondent reported.

The highway was blocked at the town of Khaldiyah, 75 kilometers (45 miles) west of the Iraqi capital, and a witness said two U.S. soldiers appeared to have been wounded in the assault.

There were no details about the nature of the attack.

U.S. troops inspect the site of a resistance attack

In the second incident, three mines exploded as a convoy drove in the al-Falahat region to the west of Fallujah, and one vehicle caught fire, a witness said.

"Several Americans were injured and three Iraqis were arrested," Abdel Hamid Ibrahim said.

U.S. tanks and armored vehicles encircled the area as helicopters hovered overhead, said another witness, Khaled Mohlef.

The U.S. army did not immediately confirm either incident.

Basra Attack

The attacks came a day after a British soldier was killed near the southern city of Basra when a military ambulance he was traveling in was hit by a remote-controlled explosion.

Two other soldiers were wounded, the British army said.

The death brought to seven the number of British servicemen killed in Iraq in attacks since major combat operations were declared over on May 1. Sixty American troops have been killed over the same period by suspected Saddam loyalists.

Another British soldier was found dead in his bed in southern Iraq, the defense ministry in London said, adding that an inquiry had been launched although there was no evidence of foul play or that it was suicide.