"The Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq condemns this robbery of American and Iraqi sides; affirming that this amount of national wealth is enormous and will be the responsibility of the U.S. occupation to compensate Iraqis with real value," the group said in a statement on its Web site.

The Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq is an influential group of religious leaders who oppose the U.S. presence in Iraq. It formed shortly after the 2003 invasion.

The U.S. Defense Department this week said Iraq secretly transported more than 600 tons of yellow cake uranium from the Tuwaitha nuclear facility in Iraq to the Canadian Cameco Corp. for processing.

The group referred to the sale as a "theft" of Iraqi materials and said the American "occupation" of Iraq does not equate to the transfer of ownership of Iraqi goods and materials into U.S. hands.

The statement said Cameco committed the "theft" of the uranium in "broad daylight" and called on the international community to condemn the move.

"We invite the world to condemn this robbery of material which was able to rule Iraq for investment in energy programs for peaceful purposes and others," the statement said.