http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&e=2&u=/ap/20030831/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraqBy TAREK AL-ISSAWI, Associated Press Writer
NAJAF, Iraq - Vowing revenge and beating their chests, more than 300,000 Shiites marched Sunday behind the rose-strewn coffin of a beloved cleric assassinated in a car bombing. Najaf leaders asked the FBI (news - web sites) for help investigating the blast, which killed 125 people.
Iraqi police said the bomb that exploded after noon prayers Friday at the vast Imam Ali mosque contained the equivalent of 1,650 pounds of TNT.
The call for the FBI to join the investigation represented a shift after U.S. authorities had taken a hands-off approach — out of deference to the sacredness of the mosque, which houses the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali. Iraqi police say 19 suspects arrested so far may have links to al-Qaida.
Many Shiites have blamed Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) loyalists for the blast, but it has also stoked anger at the U.S. occupation forces among some faithful, who say the Americans have not provided security since Saddam's fall.
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Does the FBI really need to go helping with pissing off Iraqis? We already have professionals over there doing that.