Funeral processions held Friday for the more than 200 people who died by car bombs and mortars in Baghdad's largest Shiite district. Hundreds of men, women and children beat their chests, chanted and cried as they walked beside vehicles carrying the caskets of their loved ones.
The rest of the Iraqi capital remained under a 24-hour curfew aimed at stopping attacks. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered police to guard the processions carrying victims of Thursday's attacks in Sadr City to Najaf, the holy Shiite city where they will be buried.
Once the processions reached the edge of Sadr City in northeastern Baghdad, the cars and minivans left most of the mourners behind for the 160-kilometer drive south to Najaf, the AP reported.
In Thursday's well-coordinated attack, at least 202 people were killed and 257 were wounded.
Hours after the attacks, Iraq's government imposed the curfew in Baghdad and also closed its international airport to all commercial flights. The transport ministry later closed the airport and docks in the southern city of Basra.
Leaders from Iraq's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish communities issued a televised appeal for calm after a hastily organized meeting with U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most important Shiite religious figure in Iraq, condemned the bombings and issued condolences to family members of those who were killed. He called for self-control among his followers.
Counting those killed in Sadr City, at least 274 people died or were found dead across Iraq on Thursday.
