Iraq's Shi'ites stage major protest across three cities

THOUSANDS of Shi'ites, many waving the Koran over their heads, protested the US presence in Iraq yesterday after the detention of several supporters of a radical cleric.

Meanwhile, Sunnis shut down places of worship in a show of anger over alleged sectarian violence against the minority.

The Shi'ite protests in the southern cities of Najaf, Kufa and Nasiriyah, came as Iraq's Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari announced he will visit Syria, which has been accused of harbouring insurgents bent on starting a civil war in Iraq.