Chanting "bring our troops home," tens of thousands of anti-war protesters have rallied outside congress to pressure the government to get out of Iraq.

Veterans and military families joined some congressmen, peace groups and actors to urge congress and George Bush, the US president, to stop funding the war and pull troops from Iraq.

"I thought I was serving honorably. Instead, I was sent to war ... for causes that have proved fraudulent," Garett Reppenhagen, a former sniper and Iraq war veteran, said at Saturday's rally.

"We need to put pressure on our elected government and force them to ... bring the troops home."

Tens of thousands of people attended the two-hour rally, according to a police officer.

A group of families of soldiers killed in Iraq stood holding pictures of their loved ones, including one photo of a soldier in full dress uniform lying in a coffin.

Hani Khalil, a member of United for Peace and Justice Group, told Al Jazeera that "demonstrators want to send a message to the new elected Congress that the Americans are against the war in Iraq".

Stephanie, a student from New York, told Al Jazeera’s correspondent: "We never had a good purpose for going to Iraq and it is ridiculous now to send more troops there. American students do not support this."

PHOTO CAPTION

In this photo taken with a video camera, anti-war protesters hold signs in front of the U.S. Capital building during a rally against the Iraq war Saturday, Jan. 27, 2007 in Washington. (AP)