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BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 2 (AP)—A United States Army sergeant and his wife were pulled from a jeep and molested by an Arab mob today as demonstrations against the Palestine decision continued.
The Americans were forced against a wall by a throng and threatened by fists but were released uninjured. [A United Press dispatch identified the couple as Sgt. and Mrs. John Van Vacter of Shelbyville, Mo.]
All traffic was halted in Baghdad, and business establishments closed down as 70,000 demonstrators milled. The demonstrators, who grew fiercer after dark, shouted protests of the “imperialism” of the United States, Russia, Britain and France and the “tyranny” of the United Nations.
Six Communists were arrested while distributing leaflets.
Three groups of demonstrators, one composed entirely of women, reached the confines of the royal palace, where the Director of the Royal Council told them- “Prepare for sacrifices. The Regent is not less enthusiastic. Your Government will soon need you.”