Iraq's President Saddam Hussein said Friday that more than six million Iraqis have volunteered to fight alongside the Palestinians in their uprising against Israel.
"The number of Iraqis, of both sexes, who have volunteered from October 10 to November 10 to fight beside the Palestinians has risen to 6,607,306," Saddam said, quoted by the INA news agency.
The Iraqi leader also brought the campaign to an end, saying, "Friday was the last day for Iraqis to volunteer".
The mobilization was in response to a call by Saddam Hussein on October 8 for volunteers to fight a jihad, or holy war, in the Palestinian territories.
Millions of Iraqis have been put through basic training in recent years in response to rallying cries against the United States and Britain, which bomb Iraq frequently as they enforce no-fly zones imposed after the 1991 Gulf War.
Iraq, strongly opposed to the Middle East peace process, has said it is giving five million euros (4.35 million dollars) to families of those killed in the Palestinian clashes and toward the uprising -- BAGHDAD (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
