US losing control as Iraqi grief turns to revenge

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http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,7136800%255E912,00.html

By SAMMY KETZ in Baghdad
02sep03
BAYING for vengeance, mourners of a slain Iraqi Shi'ite leader and militants have promised revenge and blamed the US, fuelling fears the country is spinning out of control five months into the US-led occupation.

As President George W. Bush fights off demands from US politicians for more international troops, hundreds of thousands of Shi'ites filled Iraqi streets for a second day in funeral marches for Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim.

Al-Hakim, who returned to Iraq in May after 23 years of exile in Iran, was the target of Friday's car bombings in Najaf, which killed 83 people.

A shadowy Iraqi group which claimed the bomb attack on UN headquarters last month in Baghdad vowed to attack US targets in retaliation for the death of al-Hakim.

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