Major Iraq rally against US troops

Iraqi Shiite militia fighters led a massive rally of followers of a hardline anti-American cleric today, marching in Baghdad in a show of defiance as Iraqi leaders weigh whether to keep US troops in the country beyond the end of the year.

An estimated 70,000 supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr waved Iraqi flags and shouted “No, no, America!” as the tight columns of the Mahdi Army marched though one of Baghdad’s poorest neighbourhoods.