Mourners pledge revenge on al-Qaida

RAMADI, Iraq, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- The Iraqi defense and interior ministers joined hundreds of mourners Friday for the funeral of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, leader of the Anbar Awakening alliance.

U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, second in command of U.S. forces, and Iraqi National Security Adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie were also at the funeral, the BBC reported. Abu Risha, a Sunni leader in Anbar Province who had allied with the United States to fight al-Qaida, was killed Thursday by a bomb in Ramadi.

A message posted on an Islamist Web site called Abu Risha "one of the dogs carrying Bush's flag," CNN said. Al-Qaida in Mesopotamia claimed the killing in the message.

Mourners chanted "We will take our revenge" and "There is no God but Allah and al-Qaida is the enemy of Allah" as they followed Abu Risha’s body to a grave in his family cemetery.

Ahmed Abu Risha, the dead leader’s older brother, said he would continue his work, The Los Angeles Times reported.

"We are going to continue our fight and avenge his death," he said.

U.S. President George W. Bush met with Abu Risha during a stopover in Anbar Province last week and mentioned his death Thursday night in a speech on U.S. television.