Iraq News Updates -- April 9, 2009

From left to right, U.S. Army Pfc. Joesph Murphy, Spc. Jeremy Sparks, Spc. Grant Flores, Sgt. Jorge Roman and an Iraqi soldier clear a home in Shuzayf, Iraq, March 26, 2009. The soldiers are assigned to the 25th Infantry Division's 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Walter J. Pels

Six Years On, Huge Protest Marks Baghdad's Fall -- Yahoo News/AP

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of followers of anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr thronged Baghdad on Thursday to mark the sixth anniversary of the city's fall to U.S. troops, and to demand they leave immediately.

"Down, down USA," the demonstrators chanted as a Ali al-Marwani, a Sadrist official, denounced the U.S. occupation of Iraq that began with the fall of Baghdad on April 9, 2003, and the toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue in Firdos Square.

The crowds of Sadr supporters stretched from the giant Sadr City slum in northeast Baghdad to the square around 5 km (3 miles) away.

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More News On Iraq

Shia crowds decry US role in Iraq -- BBC
Six years on, huge protest marks Baghdad's fall -- Reuters
Anti-US demo six years after Saddam statue toppled -- AFP
Obama says Iraq faces 'critical' 18 months -- Yahoo News/AFP
Obama says Iraq entering critical phase -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Iraq reviews US-freed prisoners after blasts -- Yahoo News/AFP
Pace of US exit puts Iraq at risk -- The Age
Some Iraqis fear sectarian violence is returning -- McClatchy
Six years after occupation, democracy still eludes Iraq -- Zawya
Rising Sunni-Shiite violence threatens security in Iraq -- World Focus
Political Rift In Iraq's Anbar Province -- NPR
For Shiite cleric in Iraq, good and bad are intermixed -- L.A. Times
U.S. Moves to Replace Contractors in Iraq -- Washington Post
Iran says ready for energy cooperation with Iraq -- Zawya
US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,266 -- AP