BAGHDAD, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Tens of thousands of followers of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr gathered in Baghdad to protest Israel and the United States and rally in support of Hezbollah.
Friday's demonstration was the largest in Iraq since the Israeli-Lebanese conflict began three weeks ago, The New York Times reported.
Tensions have been growing in recent weeks between the American military and Shiites in Sadr City. Earlier this week, American troops reportedly killed two occupants of a vehicle carrying armed Shiites to the rally.
A series of American-led raids is also being blamed in the rising number of reprisal killings.
In the Shiite-dominated Sadr City section of Baghdad, men wearing white -- to symbolize funeral shrouds -- shook their fists Friday, denouncing Israel and the United States as enemies of Muslims. Hezbollah, a Shiite group with ties to Iran, is widely supported in the Sadr City area, the newspaper said.
"America is behind all the negative things and all the destruction here, and the sectarian violence too," said Wathiq Naji, 28, a merchant from Kut. "America supports the terrorism. Islam supports the peace."
