Iraq: Cleric urges 'revenge operations' over Gaza

Anti-U.S. cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called on the Iraqi resistance Wednesday to stage "revenge operations" against American forces to protest Israel's Gaza offensive. The statement issued by his office in the Shiite holy city of Najaf came as criticism is mounting over civilian deaths in Gaza. Al-Sadr also urged that Palestinian flags to be raised on mosques, churches and buildings in Iraq in a show of solidarity and that all countries close Israeli embassies. The cleric issued a statement last month calling for protests, and his followers have complied with rallies against the offensive. But he said more steps are needed "due to the continuation of Arab silence and the massacres committed by the Zionist enemy under U.S. and international cover." "I call upon the honest Iraqi resistance to carry out revenge operations against the great accomplice of the Zionist enemy," he said, using rhetoric referring to the United States and Israel. Al-Sadr and his militiamen have been staunch opponents of the U.S. presence in Iraq, with fierce battles in 2004. He ordered his fighters to stand down in 2007 but said he would retain a smaller fighting force as long as U.S. troops remain in Iraq.