Angry protests in Najaf after U.S. soldier kills Sadr aide

Mourners carry the coffin of Sahib al-Ameri, a senior ally of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, during his funeral in the holy Shiite city of Najaf

NAJAF, Iraq, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Thousands of supporters of anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr marched through the holy Iraqi city of Najaf in an angry funeral procession after a senior Sadr aide was killed by a U.S. soldier on Wednesday.

Chanting "No to America" and carrying placards decrying U.S. occupation, mourners, including black-robed clerics, carried the coffin of Saheb al-Amiri through the streets.

Members of Sadr's group accused the Americans of provoking a confrontation and demanded a government inquiry.

Najaf, home to Iraq's top Shi'ite clerics, was the site of a 2004 rebellion against U.S. forces by militias loyal to Sadr, who also has power bases in Baghdad.

Another uprising against U.S. forces by Sadr Mehdi Army militias would be a major headache for the U.S. military, which has 135,000 troops in a country gripped by Shi'ite-Sunni strife.

Sadr officials and U.S. military commanders gave conflicting versions of the activities of Amiri.

Sadr officials said U.S. forces stormed Amiri's home at dawn on Wednesday and killed him in front of his wife and children. They said Amiri was a lawyer who headed a charity for orphans and the poor and was not part of the Mehdi Army.

Read the rest at Reuters/Alternet

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