The Shiite radical movement of Moqtada al-Sadr, which fought two wars with US troops in 2004, threatened on Wednesday to resume attacks on American targets inside Iraq over Washington's support for the Israeli assault on Gaza.
"I ask the Iraqi resistance to engage in revenge operations against the United States, the biggest partner of the Zionist enemy," Sadr said in a statement issued by his office in the central shrine city of Najaf.
He called on "all countries which host Israeli embassies on their territory to close down those missions which are the source of terrorism in Arab and Islamic countries as a sign of support for the Palestinian people."
Sadr also urged Iraqis to "place Palestinian flags on the roofs of all buildings, mosques and churches in a show of support for the mujahedeen (holy warriors) in Gaza."
Sadr's movement, which draws broad support from poorer Shiites and dominates the vast Baghdad slum district of Sadr City, has long been a staunch opponent of the US-led military presence in Iraq.
Its bloc in parliament campaigned strongly against last year's bilateral security deal with Washington which paved the way for US troops to stay on Iraq until 2011 after a UN mandate expired on December 31.
Sadr had stood down his movement's long feared Mahdi Army militia in August 2007 but his aides said a smaller leaner fighting force would be retained.
Sadr's statement came on the 12th day of Israel's assault on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, which the Jewish state said was aimed at ending rocket fire from the densely populated territory into southern Israel.
More than 690 people have now been killed, including at least 220 children, since the war erupted on December 27, Gaza medics say. More than 3,100 Palestinians have been wounded.
Six Israeli soldiers have been killed in combat in Gaza, while Israel says that more than 100 Hamas fighters have been killed during intense clashes across the enclave.
Washington has expressed strong backing for the operation saying it was Israel's right to defend itself against rocket and mortar fire by Gaza militants. It has opposed all moves at the UN Security Council to adopt an Arab draft resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire.
In recent days there have been a number of anti-Israel demonstrations staged in major Iraqi centres, including Baghdad, the northern city of Mosul and the central city of Fallujah.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, whose government enjoys the backing of the United States, on Tuesday criticised fellow Arab nations for their lack of support for the Palestinians.
"We call on our Arab brothers and Muslims to cut their relations with the usurper state and suspend all diplomatic relations with Israel and to stop any public or secret contact with the murderous regime," Maliki was quoted as saying.
Sadr during the summer of 2008 began a comprehensive reform of his Mahdi Army militia that was expected to lead to the emergence of a movement similar to the Lebanese Hezbollah.
The goal at that time, he said, was to demilitarise his "army" by creating a "special" force to exclusively fight the American "occupiers", while the bulk of his militiamen would play a social role.
These new fighters, who have swapped the Kalashnikov for the pen, are called Mumahidoun and are tasked with preparing the ground for the return of the Mahdi, Shiite Islam's 12th imam who disappeared as a child and is expected to return one day as a saviour.
Founded in 2003, the Mahdi Army is still regarded as the most powerful militia in Iraq although it suffered defeats at the hands of Iraqi and US forces in operations in Baghdad and the southern city of Basra last April and May.
Maliki launched the assaults, in which more than 1,000 people died, a bid to disarm the militiamen and restore law and order in the areas under their control.
Copyright 2009 AFP Global Edition
