BAGHDAD - THE journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W. Bush was handed over to the Iraqi judiciary, an Iraqi official said on Tuesday, a move that ordinarily signals the start of criminal proceedings.

Hundreds took to the streets on Tuesday for a second day to demand the release of Muntazer al-Zaidi, who gained folk hero status when he hurled both his shoes at Bush during a news conference Sunday in Baghdad.

Mr Muntazer was initially held by the prime minister's guards and later turned over to the Iraqi army's Baghdad command. The command, in turn, handed him over to the judiciary, the official said on condition of anonymity because he wasn't supposed to release the information.

The official would not elaborate, but referring the case to the judiciary usually signals the beginning of a lengthy process that could end in a criminal trial. Cases referred to the judiciary are given to a judge who reviews the evidence and recommends whether to hold a trial or release the defendant.

Another panel then sets a trial date and appoints judges to hear the case. The process can take months.

Earlier, Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said Mr Muntazer could face charges of insulting a foreign leader and the Iraqi prime minister, who was standing next to Mr Bush. The offense carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail.

Many Iraqis, however, believe Mr Muntazer was a hero for insulting an American president widely blamed for the chaos that has engulfed their country since the US-led invasion of 2003.

In Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city, located north of Baghdad, an estimated 1,000 protesters carried banners and chanted slogans demanding al-Zeidi's release.

A couple of hundred more also protested Tuesday in Nasiriyah, a Shiite city about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, and Fallujah, a Sunni area west of the capital.

'Muntazer al-Zaidi has expressed the feelings and ambitions of the Iraqi people toward the symbol of tyranny,' said Nassar Afrawi, a protester in Nasiriyah.

In Baghdad, Noureddin al-Hiyali, a lawmaker of the main Sunni bloc in parliament, defended Mr Muntazer's actions and said he believed the reporter was likely motivated by the invasion of Iraq, the 'dismantling of the Iraqi government, destroying the infrastructure', - all events he blamed on the Bush administration.

'International law approves peoples' right to resist occupation using all means and Mr Muntazer al-Zaidi endeavored to resist occupation in his own manner,' Mr Noureddin said.

He urged the government to take that into consideration when deciding what to do with Mr Muntazer.

The head of the Iraqi Union of Journalists described Mr Muntazer's action as 'strange and unprofessional' but urged Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to give him clemency.

'Even if he has committed a mistake, the government and the judiciary are broad-minded and we hope they consider his release because he has a family and he is still young,' Mouyyad al-Lami told AP Television News. 'We hope this case ends before going to court.'

That reflects Arab animosity toward Bush for the 2003 invasion of Iraq and dissatisfaction with the president's handling of foreign policy matters in the Middle East.

That hostility has persisted even though violence has dropped by more than 80 per cent in Iraq since earlier this year when car bombings and gunfights throughout the country were rampant.

Nevertheless, Iraqi security forces and US troops continue to be targeted by insurgents.

A roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi police patrol exploded in central Baghdad's Andalus Square Tuesday, wounding three police officers and three civilians, said Iraqi police officer Salam Mohammed.

The US military said in a written statement that troops killed three suspected insurgents and detained three others in separate operations targeting Al-Qaeda networks in northern Iraq.

Also on Tuesday, the US military announced it had transferred the last 10 female detainees in its custody to the Iraqis the day before.

A US statement said the women have either been convicted of a security-related offense or are due to stand trial in the Central Criminal Court of Iraq.

The US still holds about 15,500 detainees, down dramatically from the high of about 26,000 in November 2007.

The US-Iraqi security agreement that goes into effect next month requires the US to hand over detainees wanted by the Iraqis and release the rest. -- AP

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