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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2007
A series of blasts have destroyed two minarets at an already damaged Shia shrine in the northern Iraqi town of Samarra.
The explosions were heard in the vicinity of the Askariya mosque at about 9:00am (0500 GMT) on Wednesday.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
"The explosion targeted the two golden minarets. They have been damaged ... This is a criminal act which aims at creating sectarian strife," Saleh al-Haidari, the head of the Shia endowment in Iraq, said.
The two minarets toppled on Wednesday even as security forces were guarding the holy site.
The Askariya mosque was already severely damaged after a February 2006 attack blamed on al-Qaeda fighters.
"How did the terrorists manage to go inside the shrine, plant the explosives and then blow it up, unless they have some people in the forces there helping them?"
Abdul Mahdi al-Mutiri, senior spokesman for the group loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr
"I was near the shrine when I heard big explosions that sent a thick cloud of dust in the sky covering the entire area," said a witness.
"I quickly ran to the street from where I could see the shrine clearly. I saw one of the minarets was down.
"Seven minutes later as I was watching the shrine, another explosion occurred and the second minaret came crumbling down."
US military alert
Police have imposed a curfew on the Sunni city, 95km north of Baghdad, amid fears the bombing might worsen sectarian tension.
A senior spokesman for the group loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr, a senior Iraqi Shia cleric, called for calm after the attack, but questioned how the bombing could have occurred.
"This is a terrorist act. How did the terrorists manage to go inside the shrine, plant the explosives and then blow it up, unless they have some people in the [US and Iraqi government] forces there helping them?" Abdul Mahdi al-Mutiri said.
The US military said the fresh attack on the shrine might provoke another spike in sectarian violence.
"Based on the results of last year's attack, we are obviously watching it very carefully," said Lt Colonel Christopher Garver, a US military spokesperson.
He said the military had not yet made an independent assessment of the latest incident.
Previous attack
Police said the Shia-dominated interior ministry had been responsible for security at the mosque, after taking over from local security forces in April.
"Iraqi security forces have been protecting the shrine from all sides since April 1, and no one is allowed to approach it," Mahmoud Saleh, an Iraqi journalist, told Al Jazeera.
"The incident was shocking as people in Samarra did not expect such a thing to happen."
The bombing in Feruary 2006, which destroyed the mosque's golden dome, triggered nationwide Shia and Sunni sectarian clashes.
The Askariya contains the tombs of the tenth and eleventh imams, Ali al-Hadi, who died in 868, and his son Hassan Askariya, who died in 874.
Descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, Shias consider the two imams among his natural successors.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8F3DF99B-2FA2-4314-84BA-4478D98E1EF2.htm
A series of blasts have destroyed two minarets at an already damaged Shia shrine in the northern Iraqi town of Samarra.
The explosions were heard in the vicinity of the Askariya mosque at about 9:00am (0500 GMT) on Wednesday.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
"The explosion targeted the two golden minarets. They have been damaged ... This is a criminal act which aims at creating sectarian strife," Saleh al-Haidari, the head of the Shia endowment in Iraq, said.
The two minarets toppled on Wednesday even as security forces were guarding the holy site.
The Askariya mosque was already severely damaged after a February 2006 attack blamed on al-Qaeda fighters.
"How did the terrorists manage to go inside the shrine, plant the explosives and then blow it up, unless they have some people in the forces there helping them?"
Abdul Mahdi al-Mutiri, senior spokesman for the group loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr
"I was near the shrine when I heard big explosions that sent a thick cloud of dust in the sky covering the entire area," said a witness.
"I quickly ran to the street from where I could see the shrine clearly. I saw one of the minarets was down.
"Seven minutes later as I was watching the shrine, another explosion occurred and the second minaret came crumbling down."
US military alert
Police have imposed a curfew on the Sunni city, 95km north of Baghdad, amid fears the bombing might worsen sectarian tension.
A senior spokesman for the group loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr, a senior Iraqi Shia cleric, called for calm after the attack, but questioned how the bombing could have occurred.
"This is a terrorist act. How did the terrorists manage to go inside the shrine, plant the explosives and then blow it up, unless they have some people in the [US and Iraqi government] forces there helping them?" Abdul Mahdi al-Mutiri said.
The US military said the fresh attack on the shrine might provoke another spike in sectarian violence.
"Based on the results of last year's attack, we are obviously watching it very carefully," said Lt Colonel Christopher Garver, a US military spokesperson.
He said the military had not yet made an independent assessment of the latest incident.
Previous attack
Police said the Shia-dominated interior ministry had been responsible for security at the mosque, after taking over from local security forces in April.
"Iraqi security forces have been protecting the shrine from all sides since April 1, and no one is allowed to approach it," Mahmoud Saleh, an Iraqi journalist, told Al Jazeera.
"The incident was shocking as people in Samarra did not expect such a thing to happen."
The bombing in Feruary 2006, which destroyed the mosque's golden dome, triggered nationwide Shia and Sunni sectarian clashes.
The Askariya contains the tombs of the tenth and eleventh imams, Ali al-Hadi, who died in 868, and his son Hassan Askariya, who died in 874.
Descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, Shias consider the two imams among his natural successors.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8F3DF99B-2FA2-4314-84BA-4478D98E1EF2.htm
