Mosque attack pushes Iraq toward civil war (AP) Updated: 2006-02-23 08:51
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.
Iraqis gather at the ruins of a Shrine in
Samarra, 95 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad, Wednesday, Feb. 22,
2006. A large explosion Wednesday heavily damaged the golden dome of one
of Iraq's most famous Shiite religious shrines, sending protesters pouring
into the streets. It was the third major attack against Shiite targets in
as many days. [AP] |
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 US-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 US 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.
US 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.
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