Iraqi cleric Sadr's supporters throng Baghdad streets in show of strength

Supporters of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr gather for Friday prayer in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq July 15, 2022. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's followers thronged the streets of Baghdad on Friday, answering the populist leader's call to a mass prayer in a show of strength to his political rivals.

Sadr, a Shi'ite Muslim whose party came first in a general election in October, has vowed to disband powerful Iraqi militia groups loyal to Shi'ite Iran and to hold corrupt Iraqi politicians to account.