Posted on 02/22/2006 5:17:01 AM PST by SJackson
Protesters rage; at least five Sunni mosques targeted in reprisal.
A large explosion Wednesday heavily damaged the golden dome of one of Iraq's most famous Shi'ite shrines, sending protesters into the streets and triggering reprisal attacks against Sunni mosques. It was the third major attack against Shi'ite targets in as many days.
Shi'ite leaders called for calm as reprisal attacks occurred against at least five Sunni mosques in the capital and two in Basra. About 500 soldiers from Iraq's 6th Division were sent to Sunni neighborhoods to prevent clashes between Shi'ites and Sunnis, army Capt. Jassim al-Wahash said.
No group claimed responsibility for the early morning attack on the Askariya shrine in this city 95 kilometers north of Baghdad. But suspicion fell on Sunni extremist groups such as al-Qaida in Iraq of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
The Interior Ministry said four men, one wearing military uniform and three in black, entered the mosque early Wednesday and detonated two bombs, one of which collapsed the dome and damaged part of the northern wall of the shrine.
Police believed some people might be buried under the debris after the 6:55 a.m. explosion but there were no confirmed figures. The shrine contains the tombs of two revered Shi'ite imams, both descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, and is among Iraq's most sacred sites for Shi'ite Muslims.
The attack on such a major religious shrine threatened to enflame sectarian passions at a time when talks among Shi'ites, Sunnis and Kurds on a new government have bogged down.
In Baghdad, National Security Adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie blamed religious zealots such as al-Qaida terror network and Ansar al-Sunnah, telling Al Arabiya television that the attack was an attempt "to pull Iraq toward civil war."
The country's most revered Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, sent instructions to his followers forbidding attacks on Sunni mosques, especially the major ones in Baghdad. He called seven days of mourning, his aides said.
US and Iraqi forces sealed off all streets leading to the main Sunni mosque in Baghdad, Abu Hanifa, in the mostly Sunni Azamiyah neighborhood. The Sunni Endowment, a government organization that cares for Sunni mosques and shrines, condemned the blast and said it was sending a delegation to Samarra to investigate what happened.
Shi'ite leaders in surrounding countries, including Iran's most influential cleric body, the Qom Shi'ite Seminary, were also quick to respond.
"Ayatollahs in Qom have condemned the explosion and announced one day of public mourning," Hashem Hosseini, head of the seminary, told the state-run television.
Following the blast, US and Iraqi forces surrounded the shrine and began searching houses in the area. Five police officers responsible for protecting the mosque were taken into custody, said Col. Bashar Abdullah, chief of police commandoes in Samarra.
Large protests erupted in Shi'ite parts of Baghdad and in cities throughout the Shi'ite heartland to the south.
Residents of Najaf began closing their shops and were gathering in the city's 1920 Revolution Square for a demonstration to condemn the Samarra attack.
In the capital, the biggest attack against a Sunni mosque occurred in the Baladiyat area of eastern Baghdad, where about 40 Shi'ite militiamen sprayed the building with automatic fire. One street vendor was killed in another mosque attack.
Radical Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr cut short a visit to Lebanon and left by road for Syria, where he was expected to travel back to Iraq, Lebanese officials said.
In Samarra, thousands of demonstrators gathered near the shrine, waving Iraqi flags, Shi'ite religious banners and copies of the Muslim holy book, Koran.
Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari urged all Iraqis to condemn the attack and urged both Muslim and Christian leaders abroad "to redouble their efforts to help the Iraqi government stop these saboteurs."
I don't know why they didn't finnish that fat piece of Shiite off when they had him cornered. At any rate, it's time to get out of there, bomb the hell out of Iran on the way out, and let them eat their own for a few decades. Keep the Kurds well supplied. Islam is happiest when they are killing each our.
I wonder if there is a chance that this might have been an accidental dettonation of a large weapons cache that was situated inside the mosque?
each other
This is a big deal. Civil war is coming.
Excuse me, it has been there for a long time. they did not just start blowing themselves up recently or raping or killing each other.
Th ME has 5,000 years of history being nothing but evil.
This begs the question, if Sistani has so much pull, then why all the strife? And, IIRC, weren't some of the terrorists Shiite?
Not discounting that, but my comment was referring to the desired escalation (on the part of the sunni/terrorists).
Bingo.
"on the part of the sunni/terrorists)."
What escalation? The sunni's were the Nazi's of Iraq - they ran the rape rooms, the prisons did all of Sadams killings and ran the country by fear - few in Iraq were untouch by these animals and most have lost many family and friends becuase of the sunni's.
Caring about the sunni's is the same as making sure the nazi's had a voice in the future of Germany. You can't blame the people there for not caring about the sunni's and hopefully they will band together and rid the place of this tribe.
You didn't answer my question.
Did not see a question mark - looked more like a comment.
You act like civil war in Iraq can be avoided.
That dome was almost surgically removed -- by someone who understood the design of the structure, and how to place explosives for maximum effect.
And, yes, I am familiar with the deficiencies of Middle Eastern building materials. (Note how the facades on the outer walls sloughed off...)
Thanks for the links. Wow, Moos yelling and shaking their fists in the air - I thought they only did that on days that end in "-day".
Anyplace it's rumored that Mad Mo the Maniac Murdering Moo ever took a dump is "most sacred". It's the Moo way of stealing land and authority.
As a kid I used to mix red ants and black ants to watch the fight that ensued. No different here -- the Muslims have the intelligence of insects. Lets dust the mound and go home.
There is no evidence that Saudi Arabia has nukes. Where did you come up with that?
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