Sadr group lauds U.S. departure from Iraq

BAGHDAD, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Anti-American cleric Moqtada Sadr told supporters Thursday that foreign forces were no longer welcome on Iraqi soil.

Throngs of supporters of Sadr, an influential Shiite cleric, took to the streets of Baghdad to celebrate the end of the U.S. military presence in the country.

Sadr said Western powers, notably the United States, were defeated in Iraq, which would never host a foreign power, Iran's state-funded broadcaster Press TV reports.

Sadr spent part of the U.S.-led operation pursuing clerical studies in Iran.

The Sadrist rally follows reports that the United States was cutting its diplomatic presence at its embassy in Baghdad. U.S. State Department officials said they were looking to reduce the number of contractors there in favor of Iraqi workers.

U.S. forces ended their mission in Iraq in December under the terms of a status of forces agreement. Political conflict erupted almost immediately after, with the country's Shiite prime minister accusing one of his vice presidents of operating a death squad in the country.

Sadr was the target of a counterinsurgency campaign during the height of the war. His political party is among the more influential groups in the Iraqi government.