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Residents told AFP that the bodies of two men aged 16 and 18 were found on waste ground on the outskirts of Sadr City, and that several days previously two homosexuals had been dumped in the street with their arms and legs broken.
During Friday prayers in Sadr City, a poor district of Baghdad where some two million Iraqis live, Sheikh Jassem al-Mutairi slammed what he called "new private practices by some men who dress like women, who are effeminate."
"I call on families to prevent their children from following such a lifestyle," he added.
Since a US-backed Iraqi army offensive on Sadr City in April and May last year, Sadr's powerful Mahdi Army Shiite militia has lost much of its influence in the area.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki launched the assaults on Sadr City and the southern city of Basra, in which more than 1,000 people died, in a bid to disarm the militia and restore law and order in the areas under Mahdi Army control.
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During Friday prayers in Sadr City, a poor district of Baghdad where some two million Iraqis live, Sheikh Jassem al-Mutairi slammed what he called "new private practices by some men who dress like women, who are effeminate."
"I call on families to prevent their children from following such a lifestyle," he added.
Since a US-backed Iraqi army offensive on Sadr City in April and May last year, Sadr's powerful Mahdi Army Shiite militia has lost much of its influence in the area.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki launched the assaults on Sadr City and the southern city of Basra, in which more than 1,000 people died, in a bid to disarm the militia and restore law and order in the areas under Mahdi Army control.
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