BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) _ Iraq's vice president on Monday accused Israel of carrying out "massacres" in Lebanon, the strongest criticism yet of the Jewish state by a top official of the U.S-backed Iraqi government.

"Today, massacres are also taking place in ... Lebanon and Palestine," Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi said in a speech in Baghdad, attended by Iraq's president, the prime minister and other top government officials.

"These horrible massacres carried out by the Israeli aggression, incites in us the spirit of brotherhood and solidarity," he said.

Abdul-Mahdi, a Shiite, singled out Sunday's Israeli airstrike that killed at least 56 Lebanese, mostly women and children, in the village of Qana. The deadliest attack in nearly three weeks of fighting has triggered an international uproar.

"What happened in Qana is a repetition to these crimes that happened to our nation decades ago. It's time for this nation to stand up and stop this aggression and all forms of aggression that could affect any of its parts," Abdul-Mahdi said.

The comments were a notch harsher than the criticism leveled by Iraq's president and the deputy prime minister on Sunday. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, another Shiite, had also condemned Israel's offensive earlier this month before traveling to Washington last week, provoking criticism from U.S. lawmakers.

Several Democrats boycotted his speech to Congress on Wednesday and Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean called the Iraqi leader an "anti-Semite."

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