IRAQ: Hundreds of Iraqis marched yesterday outside the walls of the military jail in Iraq where US soldiers photographed themselves abusing Iraqi prisoners, and demanded the release of jailed relatives.
Protesters carrying Iraqi flags and placards reading in English, "You have given a bad impression of America and Christians", gathered at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison, infamous for torture under the Saddam Hussein regime.
Relatives of the nearly 4,000 Abu Ghraib prisoners who are among about 10,000 Iraqis held by occupying troops demanded they be set free immediately. Some said the images of soldiers forcing Iraqis to pose nude and simulate sex acts would draw retribution.
"They have taken five of my children. It's a crime," screamed one woman at a checkpoint outside the prison which is surrounded by blast barriers, razor wire and US machine-gun posts atop the walls.
"These acts demand revenge and we hold you completely responsible," said a representative of the Association of Muslim Clerics, a Sunni Muslim group which has helped organise some of the protests which regularly demand the release of detainees.
Abdul-Salam Al-Qubeisi, a leading member of the association, called on the US to punish all of the soldiers who were involved in abusing Iraqis and pay compensation to the victims. He also said that human rights groups should be allowed to visit the prisoners.
"These demands are vital to us as Iraqis and meeting them will help maintain security and alleviate tension and violence," al-Qubeisi said.
A coalition soldier was killed yesterday in the southern city of Karbala in a clash with Shiite militiamen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the Polish command in Iraq said in a statement.
There was no immediate information on the nationality of the soldier. Polish peacekeepers are active in the area.