Bomb Destroys Shia Shrine Minarets
Wednesday, 13. June 2007, 17:52:48
Suspected al Qaida bombers have toppled the towering minarets of a revered Iraqi Shiite shrine on Wednesday.
The attack on Samarra's Shiite shrine, added new provocation to old a year after the mosque's Golden Dome was destroyed.
The incident stoked fears of an upsurge in intra-Muslim violence. Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's government rushed to contain Shiite wrath against Sunnis. A curfew was placed on Baghdad and extra US troops were rushed in to Samarra.
Wednesday's attack also threatened to deepen Iraq's political crisis, as the 30-member bloc of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr immediately suspended its participation in parliament in protest.
The Golden Dome bombing in February 2006, at one of Iraqi Shiism's holiest sites, unleashed a bloodbath of reprisals - of Shiite death-squad murders of Sunnis, and Sunni bombing attacks on Shiites. At least 34,000 civilians died in last year's violence, the United Nations reported.
Wednesday's attack came in near-simultaneous explosions at about 9am, completely bringing down the two slender golden minarets, 100 feet tall, that had flanked the dome's ruins. No casualties were reported. How the attackers evaded the Askariya shrine's guard force, strengthened considerably after the 2006 bombing, was a mystery.
Maliki said policemen at the shrine were later detained for questioning in the investigation, and the Interior Ministry said members of "a terrorist group" - not the policemen - were arrested in Samarra and were being interrogated in connection with the shrine attack. It did not elaborate.
An indefinite curfew was immediately imposed on Samarra and, as Iraqi army and police reinforcements and US troops poured in, the streets emptied by mid-afternoon, witnesses said. A few hundred US soldiers had been stationed around Samarra but had left shrine security to Iraqi forces.
In Baghdad, the prime minister ordered an indefinite curfew, beginning at 6pm local time, on vehicle traffic and large gatherings in the capital.
An official close to the prime minister, citing intelligence reports, said the bombing was likely the work of al Qaida, whose militants have recently moved into Samarra from surrounding areas.
The attack on Samarra's Shiite shrine, added new provocation to old a year after the mosque's Golden Dome was destroyed.
The incident stoked fears of an upsurge in intra-Muslim violence. Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's government rushed to contain Shiite wrath against Sunnis. A curfew was placed on Baghdad and extra US troops were rushed in to Samarra.
Wednesday's attack also threatened to deepen Iraq's political crisis, as the 30-member bloc of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr immediately suspended its participation in parliament in protest.
The Golden Dome bombing in February 2006, at one of Iraqi Shiism's holiest sites, unleashed a bloodbath of reprisals - of Shiite death-squad murders of Sunnis, and Sunni bombing attacks on Shiites. At least 34,000 civilians died in last year's violence, the United Nations reported.
Wednesday's attack came in near-simultaneous explosions at about 9am, completely bringing down the two slender golden minarets, 100 feet tall, that had flanked the dome's ruins. No casualties were reported. How the attackers evaded the Askariya shrine's guard force, strengthened considerably after the 2006 bombing, was a mystery.
Maliki said policemen at the shrine were later detained for questioning in the investigation, and the Interior Ministry said members of "a terrorist group" - not the policemen - were arrested in Samarra and were being interrogated in connection with the shrine attack. It did not elaborate.
An indefinite curfew was immediately imposed on Samarra and, as Iraqi army and police reinforcements and US troops poured in, the streets emptied by mid-afternoon, witnesses said. A few hundred US soldiers had been stationed around Samarra but had left shrine security to Iraqi forces.
In Baghdad, the prime minister ordered an indefinite curfew, beginning at 6pm local time, on vehicle traffic and large gatherings in the capital.
An official close to the prime minister, citing intelligence reports, said the bombing was likely the work of al Qaida, whose militants have recently moved into Samarra from surrounding areas.
WIDGETIZE
How to use Quote function: