Thousands join anti-U.S. march marking Baghdad's fall

Story Highlights

• NEW: Pentagon asked to extend tours of duty for about 15,000 troops in Iraq
• Thousands follow cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's call to protest U.S. troops in Iraq
• Anti-U.S. cleric calls on supporters to fight Americans, not each other
• Six U.S. troops killed, including three by a roadside bomb south of capital

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Thousands of anti-U.S. protesters marched in the Shiite holy city of Najaf on Monday to mark the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad.

Powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called for the demonstration, which Najaf police said included tens of thousands of protesters.

The U.S. Army estimated the crowd size at closer to 5,000 to 7,000 participants based on aerial photographs, said military spokesman Col. Steve Boylan. (Watch how rally sends message of al-Sadr's power )

"[The] peaceful gathering is part of the right to peaceful assembly and the Iraqi people to voice their views," Boylan said, calling it an example of the "changes occurring in Iraq."

Marchers joined the protest from Kufa to neighboring Najaf, 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Baghdad, as Iraqi police watched, according to The Associated Press.

Iraqi flags and leaflets dotted the march route, according to the AP. Some of the leaflets read, "Yes, Yes to Iraq" and "Yes, Yes to Muqtada. Occupiers should leave Iraq," the AP reported. (Interactive: Images of the angry protest)

One marcher, Iraqi lawmaker Nassar al-Rubaie, told the AP, "The enemy that is occupying our country is now targeting the dignity of the Iraqi people."

Al-Rubaie, who leads al-Sadr's bloc in the Iraqi parliament, told the AP, "After four years of occupation, we have hundreds of thousands of people dead and wounded."

The firebrand cleric's mandate came before a 24-hour security ban began Monday on civilian vehicle traffic in Baghdad.

Al-Sadr: 'The occupiers ... are your enemy'

On Sunday, al-Sadr called on his followers to stop killing Iraqi forces and focus instead on resisting Americans.

In a statement attributed to al-Sadr and released in Najaf, the cleric purportedly said insurgents should not be killing Iraqis and that Iraqi police and troops should be on the side of the militias.

"You, the Iraqi army and police forces, do not walk alongside the occupiers because they are your enemy," the statement said. "I am here to advise you the honest resister hope for two things from God: either victory or martyrdom. But at the same time, the honest resister should not kill a fellow Iraqi."

Throughout the weekend, U.S. and Iraqi forces battled al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia south of the capital in Diwaniya.

The U.S. military said it had captured 39 militia fighters and killed several in the Diwaniya fighting.

"So far, we have achieved great success fighting the terrorists," said Maj. Gen. Oothman Faroud, who is leading Iraqi soldiers in the Diwaniya operation. "We have freed the people of Diwaniya from the murder and intimidation that has plagued the city 24 hours a day, seven days a week for months."

Other developments

U.S. commanders in Iraq have asked the Pentagon to extend tours of duty for about 15,000 troops in the war zone by up to four months as part of the troop "surge" that began in January, CNN has learned. Several military sources confirmed that the request is being considered by the Pentagon and could be signed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates this week. The extension would apply to four ground combat brigades and a combat aviation brigade now in Iraq. The specific units have not yet been identified, according to sources.

The Pentagon on Monday identified four U.S. National Guard units that will return to Iraq for a second time: the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, based in Little Rock, Arkansas; the 45th Infantry Brigade, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Indianapolis, Indiana; and the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Columbus, Ohio. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates signed papers Friday for the four brigades to return to Iraq later this year or in early 2008. The 12,000 troops are to be rotated into the country to replace forces that are leaving.

Six American soldiers died in Iraq on Sunday, including three killed by a roadside bomb south of Baghdad, U.S. commanders reported. In another attack south of the city, one soldier was killed and three wounded Sunday when their unit came under rocket or mortar fire, according to the military. Two more soldiers were killed in fighting north of Baghdad, in Salaheddin and Diyala provinces, U.S. commanders said.

Four U.S. soldiers also were reported killed Saturday in an explosion in Diyala, which includes the restive city of Baquba. The U.S. death toll in the Iraq war stands at 3,280, including seven civilian contractors of the Defense Department.

A powerful car bomb killed at least 17 civilians and wounded 26 others Sunday in Mahmoudiya, south of the Iraqi capital, authorities said. At least five people were killed in blasts Sunday in Baghdad, police said. Also Sunday, 17 bodies were found scattered around Baghdad.

CNN's Mike Mount, Carolina Sanchez, Barbara Starr and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.