More than 100,000 Shi'ite followers of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have marched in Baghdad in support of Lebanon's Hezbollah militia.
The protesters, clad in white shrouds to symbolize a willingness to die, marched through the streets of Baghdad's Sadr City district Friday, bearing yellow Hezbollah flags. They chanted slogans in support of the militia's battle against Israel.
Tensions were high as people poured into Baghdad after news reports said U.S. troops killed at least one person headed to the march. The U.S. military says soldiers killed two armed terrorists.
Meanwhile in northern Iraq, police say violence Friday, has killed at least 19 people.
Iraqi police in Mosul say bomb attacks and fierce fighting in the city killed at least nine people. Authorities say at least three of the dead are police.
South of Mosul, a suicide bomber killed 10 people at a football (soccer) field in Hadrah.
Thursday, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East said Iraq could slide into civil war if sectarian violence is not stopped. General John Abizaid said sectarian violence in Iraq is probably as bad as he has ever seen it.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.