US flag-burning marks war anniversary

American flags were set on fire Friday to chants of "no, no for occupation" as followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr marked the sixth anniversary of the Iraq war. In five other Iraqi cities, Sadr supporters either marched or stood in protest after prayers to demand the release of their allies detained at Iraqi and U.S.-run prisons. In the capital, al-Sadr aide Sheik Haidar al-Jabiri urged supporters to join an April 9 march to protest the six-year anniversary of Americans taking over the city. "Today, a remembrance of the cruel occupation of Iraq, and on April 9, there will be a chant for liberation," al-Sadr aide Sheik Haidar al-Jabiri told worshippers gathered in Baghdad's Shiite district of Sadr City for Friday sermons. He added: "Sayed Muqtada invites you to march by the millions on April 9, the anniversary of the cruel occupation." Baghdad fell to U.S. forces on April 9, 2003. The war began with a missile and bombing attack on south Baghdad before dawn on March 20, 2003–March 19 in Washington. "No, no for occupation. Yes, yes for liberation. Yes, yes for Iraq," the demonstrators chanted. Two American flags were set on fire. Thousands of Sadr's followers in five other cities–Basra, Kut, Diwaniyah, Amarah and Nasiriyah–also took to the streets Friday in an apparent planned series of protests. In Kut, up to 1,000 worshippers marched from the grand mosque in center of the city to Sadrist offices a short distance away, denouncing the U.S. occupation and calling for detainees to be released.