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Gold9472
02-22-2006, 08:33 PM
Mosque Attack Pushes Iraq Toward Civil War

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060222/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_ylt=ApErYvQF8UV0XG6Bg84frQ.s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMT A2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--

(Gold9472: Yay Bush!)

By ZIAD KHALAF, Associated Press Writer 53 minutes ago

SAMARRA, Iraq - Insurgents posing as police destroyed the golden dome of one of Iraq's holiest Shiite shrines Wednesday, setting off an unprecendented spasm of sectarian violence. Angry crowds thronged the streets, militiamen attacked Sunni mosques, and at least 19 people were killed.

With the gleaming dome of the 1,200-year-old Askariya shrine reduced to rubble, some Shiites lashed out at the United States as partly to blame.

The violence — many of the 90 attacks on Sunni mosques were carried out by Shiite militias — seemed to push Iraq closer to all-out civil war than at any point in the three years since the U.S.-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

Many leaders called for calm. "We are facing a major conspiracy that is targeting Iraq's unity," said President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd. "We should all stand hand in hand to prevent the danger of a civil war."

President Bush pledged American help to restore the mosque after the bombing north of Baghdad, which dealt a severe blow to U.S. efforts to keep Iraq from falling deeper into sectarian violence.

"The terrorists in Iraq have again proven that they are enemies of all faiths and of all humanity," Bush said. "The world must stand united against them, and steadfast behind the people of Iraq."

British Prime Minister Tony Blair also condemned the bombing and pledged funds toward the shrine's reconstruction.

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and the top American commander in Iraq, Gen. George Casey, called the attack a deliberate attempt to foment sectarian strife and warned it was a "critical moment for Iraq."

No one was reported injured in the bombing of the shrine in Samarra.

But at least 19 people, including three Sunni clerics, were killed in the reprisal attacks that followed, mainly in Baghdad and predominantly Shiite provinces to the south, according to the Iraqi Islamic Party, the country's largest Sunni political group.

Many of the attacks appeared to have been carried out by Shiite militias that the United States wants to see disbanded.

In predominantly Shiite Basra, police said militiamen broke into a prison, hauled out 12 inmates, including two Egyptians, two Tunisians, a Libyan, a Saudi and a Turk, and shot them dead in reprisal for the shrine attack.

Major Sunni groups joined in condemning the attack, and a leading Sunni politician, Tariq al-Hashimi, urged clerics and politicians to calm the situation "before it spins out of control."

The country's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, sent instructions to his followers forbidding attacks on Sunni mosques, and called for seven days of mourning.

But he hinted, as did Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi, that religious militias could be given a bigger security role if the government cannot protecting holy shrines — an ominous sign of the Shiite reaction ahead.

Both Sunnis and the United States fear the rise of such militias, which the disaffected minority views as little more than death squads. American commanders believe they undercut efforts to create a professional Iraqi army and police force — a key step toward the eventual drawdown of U.S. forces.

Some Shiite political leaders already were angry with the United States because it has urged them to form a government in which nonsectarian figures control the army and police. Khalilzad warned this week — in a statement clearly aimed at Shiite hard-liners — that America would not continue to support institutions run by sectarian groups with links to armed militias.

One top Shiite political leader accused Khalilzad of sharing blame for the attack on the shrine in Samarra.

"These statements ... gave green lights to terrorist groups. And, therefore, he shares in part of the responsibility," said Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq and the former commander of its militia.

The interior minister, who controls the security forces that Sunnis accuse of widepsread abuses, is a member of al-Hakim's party.

The new tensions came as Iraq's various factions have been struggling to assemble a government after the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections.

The Shiite fury sparked by Wednesday's bombings — the third major attack against Shiite targets in as many days — raised the likelihood that Shiite religious parties will reject U.S. demands to curb militias.

The Askariya shrine, also known as the Golden Mosque, contains the tombs of two revered Shiite imams, who are considered by Shiites to be among the successors of the Prophet Muhammad.

No group claimed responsibility for the 6:55 a.m. assault on the shrine in Samarra, a mostly Sunni Arab city 60 miles north of Baghdad, carried out by four insurgents disguised as police. But suspicion fell on Sunni extremist groups.

The top of the dome, which was completed in 1905, collapsed into a crumbly mess, leaving just traces of gold showing through the rubble. Part of the shrine's tiled northern wall also was damaged.

Thousands of demonstrators crowded near the wrecked shrine, and Iraqis picked through the debris, pulling out artifacts and copies of the Muslim holy book, the Quran, which they waved, along with Iraqi flags.

"This criminal act aims at igniting civil strife," said Mahmoud al-Samarie, a 28-year-old builder. "We demand an investigation so that the criminals who did this be punished. If the government fails to do so, then we will take up arms and chase the people behind this attack."

U.S. and Iraqi forces surrounded the Samarra shrine and searched nearby houses. About 500 soldiers were sent to Sunni neighborhoods in Baghdad to prevent clashes.

On Al-Jazeera television, Sunni politician Adnan al-Dulaimi pledged that the violence would not discourage Sunnis from working to form a new government and claimed the Samarra attack was not planned by Sunni insurgents but "a foreign hand aiming to create differences among Iraqis."

National Security Adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie said 10 people were detained for questioning about the bombing. The Interior Ministry put the number at nine and said they included five guards.

In the hours after the attack, more than 90 Sunni mosques were attacked with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, burned or taken over by Shiites, the Iraqi Islamic Party said.

Large protests erupted in Shiite parts of Baghdad and in cities throughout the Shiite heartland to the south. In Basra, Shiite militants traded rifle and rocket-propelled grenade fire with guards at the office of the Iraqi Islamic Party. Smoke billowed from the building.

Shiite protesters later set fire to a Sunni shrine containing the seventh century tomb of Talha bin Obeid-Allah, a companion of Muhammad, on the outskirts of Basra.

Protesters in Najaf, Kut and Baghdad's Shiite slum of Sadr City also marched through the streets by the thousands, many shouting anti-American and anti-Israeli slogans and burning those nations' flags.

Tradition says the Askariya shrine, which draws Shiite pilgrims from throughout the Islamic world, is near the place where the last of the 12 Shiite imams, Mohammed al-Mahdi, disappeared. Al-Mahdi was the son and grandson of the two imams buried in the Askariya shrine. Shiites believe he is still alive and will return to restore justice to humanity.

Gold9472
02-23-2006, 01:13 PM
US military denies Iraq on brink of civil war

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060223/pl_afp/iraqunrestus

57 minutes ago

BAGHDAD (AFP) - The US military rejected the idea that a civil war is brewing in Iraq, saying it had confirmed only seven major attacks on mosques across the country.

Major General Rick Lynch, spokesman for the coalition forces in Iraq, said the military had recorded attacks on seven Sunni mosques since the bombing of the revered Shiite shrine in Samarra on Wednesday.

"As of now seven attacks on mosques across Iraq have taken place that resulted in damage to mosques. Two Sunni imams (prayer leaders) and one Sunni sheikh were murdered," Lynch told reporters, playing down the sectarian strife.

"Some drive-by shootings against mosques have been reported ... that's where we are. So we are not seeing civil war igniting in Iraq. We are not seeing 77, 80, 100 mosques damaged in Iraq. We are not seeing death on the streets."

More than 80 bodies of people who had been shot dead were brought to Baghdad's morgue between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, according to its deputy director.

In addition, 47 workers from a brick factory were murdered Thursday on the outskirts of the capital, police said.

Iraqi security officials and Sunni leaders said around 30 Sunni mosques were attacked Wednesday following the bombing of the 1,000-year-old Imam Ali al-Hadi mausoleum, a revered Shiite shrine, in the northern town of Samarra.

Lynch said a total of 20 peaceful demonstrations had taken place across Iraq over the past 36 hours, but admitted "there were some demonstrations that were violent."

"We are seeing a confident Iraqi government using capable security forces to calm the storm that was inflammated by a horrendous terrorist attack yesterday against the golden mosque," Lynch added.

He confirmed that all Iraqi security forces were on alert, and "everybody who was on leave has been called back". An overnight curfew has also been extended in Baghdad and Samarra, he said.

Lynch said US forces had not expected an attack against the Samarra shrine.

He suggested that the bombing resulted from a growing rift between local people in Samarra and "foreign fighters" who had decided to strike at a symbol of the city.

"What we saw in Samarra was an indication of what is happening with the terrorists and foreign fighters," he said.

The bombing, he suggested, bore "a signature of (Abu Musab al-) Zarqawi and terrorists and foreign fighters," he said in reference to the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq.

Partridge
02-23-2006, 03:21 PM
- Sunni party quits Iraq government talks after mosque bombing

- More than 100 dead in revenge attacks; 7 U.S. soldiers killed

CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/23/iraq.main/index.html)



Iraq's most powerful Sunni Muslim party quit talks to form a new government Thursday after reprisal attacks for the bombing of an important Shiite mosque.

Amid reports of more than 100 killings nationwide -- many of them Sunni Muslims -- the Sunni Accord Front announced it is leaving political unity talks after meeting with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.

The Accord Front received 44 seats in December's election for the 275-member Iraqi parliament and has been working with Kurds, Shiites and other Sunnis to cobble together a government. (Watch enraged Iraqis after bombing of the Golden Mosque -- 1:51 (javascript:cnnVideo('play','/video/world/2006/02/22/raman.iraq.mosque.dome.destroyed.affl','2006/03/01');))

Including Sunnis in the government is seen as key to establishing law and order and defeating Iraq's insurgency, whose supporters are largely Sunni. Shiites were largely persecuted by ruling minority Sunnis during the reign of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

The killings followed widespread Shiite protests after Wednesday's bombing of the Al-Askariya Shiite mosque -- also known as the Golden Mosque -- in Samarra.

Southeast of Baghdad, both Sunnis and Shiites joined to protest the bombing and reprisal attacks Thursday in the town of Kut, police said. Thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets saying that they are "all Iraqis."

Meanwhile, seven U.S. soldiers were killed in two roadside bombings north of Baghdad Wednesday, the U.S. military said.

Four soldiers from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, were killed near Hawija.

Three Task Force Band of Brothers Soldiers from the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, were killed near Balad.

Their deaths brought the number of U.S. troops killed in the Iraq war to 2,285, according to military reports.

'Thumbprints of terrorists'

U.S. Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch told reporters in Baghdad Thursday that the mosque attack is under investigation, but said the military is "absolutely convinced the thumbprints of terrorists are all over this."

"It's clearly the signature of [Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi] and terrorists and foreign fighters," Lynch said.

He praised the Iraqi government's "capable" leadership in reaction to the violence, such as enforcing curfews, calling for calm, recalling security forces on leave, and increasing security around shrines and political buildings.

He said coalition forces are deployed in reaction to the violence "but they are not in the lead."

Bush: Bombing 'evil act'

President Bush, speaking at Thursday's White House Cabinet meeting, reiterated U.S. resolve to help Iraq rebuild the holy site.

"Voices of reason in all aspects of Iraqi life understand that this bombing is intended to create civil strife," Bush said, adding that the "act was an evil act. The destruction of a holy site is political act intending to create strife."

Iraqi President Talabani, speaking to reporters, urged all parties in Iraq to condemn the violence and agree on the need to have a government of national unity that can work toward keeping the peace and fighting terrorism.

"If the flames of division get enraged, God forbid, they won't help anyone," Talabani said. "No one will be spared. Putting those flames out is a sacred duty of all Iraqis and a must in order to achieve a unified democratic Iraq."

Sunnis killed

At least 54 Sunnis are believed to have been killed since the Golden Temple bombing including imams, worshippers and bystanders, according to police figures.

Separately, the bodies of 47 unidentified people who'd been shot were found Thursday southeast of Baquba.

While reporting on the Samarra attack, three journalists for Al-Arabiya television, including a female correspondent, were kidnapped and killed, police and the Arabic-language channel said. (Full story (http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/23/journalists.killed/))

An explosion killed 16 people Thursday and wounded 20 others in Baquba. Five people were killed and 10 others were wounded in another Baquba blast Thursday that's suspected of being a suicide bombing.

Iraqi police found six bodies Thursday -- all presumed to be Sunni -- in the Dora neighborhood of southern Baghdad.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most powerful Shiite cleric in Iraq, called on the government to take charge of the situation before the general public does.

"The Iraqi government is asked today to fulfill its responsibility to prevent attacks against holy shrines," he said Wednesday. "If its security forces are not able to secure these sites, then the believers are capable to do so with the help of Allah."

The nationwide violence ignited after the mosque was bombed by attackers dressed as Iraqi police commandos. The attack immediately enraged Iraq's majority Shiite Muslim community, sparking large protests in several cities.

Sunni boycott

Before announcing it was quitting talks to form a new government, the Iraqi Accord Front boycotted a meeting called by Iraqi President Talabani to discuss the Al-Askariya attack and sectarian tensions.

According to Iyad al-Samarrai, a senior member of the IAF, the group skipped the meeting because of reprisal attacks against Sunni mosques and what he said was the failure of the government condemn or prevent them.

Samarrai said at least 100 Sunni locations have been attacked since the bombing of the Shiite shrine, including Sunni political parties offices and mosques.

In a letter to the president's office, the Iraqi Accordance Front said it wants:

Condemnation by the government and all parties of the attacks against Sunni mosques and locations.
Investigation into the attacks.
Compensation for all damages sustained.
CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq and Arwa Damon contributed to this report.