Iraqis in Iran show support for Shiites

[sabra]

http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/international/index.ssf?/base/international-27/113459365431970.xml&storylist=international

Iraqis in Iran show support for Shiites


TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Thousands of Iraqis voted in Iran on Wednesday, turning out in force to back Shiite parties seeking to maintain their dominance in Iraq's parliament.

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In Iran — where some 100,000 Iraqis live, most of them Shiite Muslims with painful memories of oppression under Saddam Hussein's Sunni-led regime — voters vowed to maintain the power Shiite parties have held since Saddam's fall.

Many appeared to support Shiite leader Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim, the head of the largest party in parliament, who spent years in exile in Iran leading Shiite militiamen against Saddam's Baath Party.

"We all voted for al-Hakim's group. If his group wins, Iran and Iraq could be united and defend Shiites' rights in any corner of the world," said shopkeeper Najaf Kamal, 53, who entered a Tehran polling station with his wife and four adult children.