Security Incidents in Iraq, Feb 22 (Mosque attacks increase)

Reuters/AlertNet ^ | Feb 22, 2006 | Reuters

[spetznaz]

Feb 22 (Reuters) - The following are security incidents in Iraq reported on Wednesday Feb. 22 as of 1745 GMT.

U.S. and Iraqi forces are battling a largely Sunni Arab insurgency against the Shi'ite- and Kurdish-led government in Baghdad.

SAMARRA - A bomb attack shattered a sacred Shi'ite shrine in the town of Samarra, 100 km (62 miles) north of Baghdad. The blast ignited protests in several cities.

**BAGHDAD - At least 28 Sunni mosques and an office for the Iraqi Islamic Party in Baghdad were attacked by gunmen after the bomb blast in Samarra. Police said one mosque was completely burnt while others were attacked by gunfire and rocket propelled grenades. Three clerics and three bodyguards were killed, and another cleric was kidnapped, according to interior ministry sources. Gunmen used rifles and RPG rounds in the latest mosque attack, in the southern Saidaya district of Baghdad, a witness said.

**Hussein al-Falluji, a leading Sunni politician, reported attacks on at least 75 Sunni mosques around the country with most in eastern Baghdad.

BASRA - Storage depots belonging to the main Sunni religious body in Basra, 550 km (340 miles) south of Baghdad, were reported by local police to be on fire after three grenades were thrown from moving cars while residents were at prayers.

DIWANIYA - Clashes erupted in Diwaniya after militiamen loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr attacked the houses of Arab Sunnis in Diwaniya, 180 km (110 miles) south of Baghdad. One of Sadr's men was killed, said a member of the Diwaniya provincial council.

BASRA - Gunmen attacked a Sunni mosque with rocket propelled grenades in Basra, local police said. There were no casualties.

BASRA - Local police said shootouts erupted between Sadr's militiamen and members of the Iraqi Islamic Party in Basra.

[spetznaz]

I pray that the situation over there doesn't get worse. According to this report between 28-75 Sunni mosques have been attacked. I think that if the people who attacked the Shia shrine are captured (from what I hear they have), that they should be turned over to the mob for retribution. Yes, I know that is savage and against the rule of (western) law, but having the mob deal with them in whatever means they deem appropriate may be one of the few ways to defuse this situation. Turn them over and hopefully the Shiites will feel that they have avenged the destruction of their shrine, and maybe the attacks against the Sunni will cease. If they are not turned over then there is a good chance of a serious breakdown in Shia-Sunni relations (more than is currently the case), and that will not stand well with our vision of Iraq.

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

Can you quickly bring me up to speed on the Shiite and the Sunni? I heard which is which before but have forgotten.

[bnelson44]

Sunni are based in Mecca (Saudi Arabia) and are by far the largest sect in Islam. The Sunni branch believes that the first four caliphs (Mohammed's successors) rightfully took his place as the leaders of Muslims. Shiite are an offshoot from a very early period and are based in Iraq and Iran. Shiites believe that only the heirs of the fourth caliph, Ali, are the legitimate successors of Mohamed. They have been fighting each other since the fourth caliph.

[bnelson44]

Good info here:

http://hnn.us/articles/934.html

[huck von finn]

Numbers keep going up...now it's 90.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060222/D8FUBU0G1.html

SAMARRA, Iraq (AP) - Insurgents detonated bombs inside one of Iraq's holiest Shiite shrines Wednesday, destroying its golden dome and triggering more than 90 reprisal attacks on Sunni mosques. The president warned that extremists were pushing the country toward civil war, as many Shiites lashed out at the United States as partly to blame.

As the gold dome of the 1,200-year-old Askariya shrine lay in ruins, leaders on both sides called for calm: But the string of back-and-forth attacks seemed to push the country closer to all-out civil war than at any point in the three years since the U.S.-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

[MajorityOfOne]

I sure wish I could brng myself to think that blowing up mosques is a bad thing.

[Wasanother]

The Sunni's have been supporting the terrorist in Iraq for years now and it seems like the Shiites have just had enough. It will eventually calm down because neither side has the strength to conduct a "civil war".

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

Thanks for the info and the link.