Thousands of Iraqis Demand Saddam's Execution
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Thousands of Iraqis marched through central Baghdad on Thursday demanding the execution of former dictator Saddam Hussein and denouncing Islamist militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Noisy protesters waved Iraqi flags, chanted anti-Saddam slogans and held up posters depicting mass graves.
"Let every fool listen, Saddam has to be executed," "No, No to Tikrit" shouted the crowd in reference to Saddam's hometown north of Baghdad. Protesters also shouted slogans denouncing the United States, Zionism and terrorism.
"Death to Wahabis! Death to Zarqawi!" shouted several hundred people in the heart of Baghdad's commercial district, referring to a strict Sunni Muslim sect based in Saudi Arabia.
Zarqawi, the U.S. military's number one target in Iraq with a $25 million bounty on his head, is suspected of being behind many of the most deadly suicide attacks that have devastated Iraq in the 15 months since Saddam's overthrow.
Protest organizers said they also wanted the government to introduce an annual day of remembrance for victims of Saddam.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Thousands of Iraqis marched through central Baghdad on Thursday demanding the execution of former dictator Saddam Hussein and denouncing Islamist militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Noisy protesters waved Iraqi flags, chanted anti-Saddam slogans and held up posters depicting mass graves.
"Let every fool listen, Saddam has to be executed," "No, No to Tikrit" shouted the crowd in reference to Saddam's hometown north of Baghdad. Protesters also shouted slogans denouncing the United States, Zionism and terrorism.
"Death to Wahabis! Death to Zarqawi!" shouted several hundred people in the heart of Baghdad's commercial district, referring to a strict Sunni Muslim sect based in Saudi Arabia.
Zarqawi, the U.S. military's number one target in Iraq with a $25 million bounty on his head, is suspected of being behind many of the most deadly suicide attacks that have devastated Iraq in the 15 months since Saddam's overthrow.
Protest organizers said they also wanted the government to introduce an annual day of remembrance for victims of Saddam.
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