Clashes Break Out Over U.S. Occupation

By ABDUL HUSSEIN AL-OBEIDI, Associated Press Writer

NAJAF, Iraq - Thousands of Shiites, many waving Islam's holy book over their heads, protested the U.S.-led occupation in Iraq on Friday, setting off clashes in at least one southern city as they answered a call by a radical cleric to paint Israeli and American flags on the ground and stomp on them.

Sunni Muslim clerics also delivered fiery sermons in Baghdad and in cities like Ramadi, capital of the volatile Sunni Triangle in western Iraq, where more than 3,000 people protested.

In a separate action, Sunni Muslims began shutting down their mosques to complain about their alleged mistreatment at the hands of the country's majority Shiites - who they have blamed for kidnapping and killing several of their clerics.

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