At least two Sunni Muslim mosques have been attacked in Iraq and two people killed in apparent retaliation for the execution of a senior Shi'ite cleric in Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, officials and police say.
Iraqi Shi'ites protesting last week's execution of Saudi Shi'ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr separately marched in Baghdad and in southern cities, calling for a boycott of Saudi products and severing ties with the Sunni-ruled kingdom.
Iraq's Interior Ministry confirmed the attacks on Sunni mosques late on Sunday in Hilla, around 100km south of Baghdad. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi blamed them on "Daesh (Islamic State) and those who are similar to them," without further explanation.
He ordered provincial authorities "to chase the criminal gangs" who attacked the mosques.
Iraq has faced sectarian bloodletting for years, mainly between minority Sunnis and a Shi'ite majority empowered after the US-led invasion in 2003.
The spark for Sunday's attacks appears to have been Nimr's execution a day earlier, which triggered angry reactions in Shi'ite-ruled Iraq and Iran.
Saudi Arabia cut ties with regional rival Iran on Sunday after protesters attacked the kingdom's embassy in Tehran. Bahrain, the Shi'ite-majority Gulf state ruled by a Sunni family, and Sudan followed suit on Monday.
Prominent religious and political leaders in Iraq have called on the government to cut ties with Saudi Arabia, which reopened its Baghdad embassy last week after closing it in 1990 following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
While Abadi and Iraq's foreign ministry have condemned Nimr's execution, they have given no indication of a more severe response.
Thousands of protesters marched in Baghdad and Shi'ite cities in southern Iraq, heeding calls by prominent Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to protest against al-Nimr's execution.
In Baghdad, demonstrators carrying portraits of Nimr rallied outside the heavily fortified Green Zone housing government departments and diplomatic representations, including the newly reopened Saudi embassy.
Police guarding the zone pushed back a group trying to cross a line of barbed wire as they chanted "damned, damned be Al Saud," referring to the Saudi ruling family.
Similar protests were held in Basra, southern Iraq's biggest city, and in the Shi'ite holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala.
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