Blast at revered Shi'ite shrine in Iraq's Samarra

[maddezmom]

Source: Reuters

BAGHDAD, June 13 (Reuters) - An explosion struck a revered Shi'ite Muslim shrine in the Iraqi city of Samarra on Wednesday that was badly damaged in February 2006, senior Shi'ite officials and a witness said.

The witness said two minarets at the Golden Mosque were damaged in the blast. Last year's attack on the mosque triggered a wave of sectarian violence in Iraq that has killed tens of thousands of people.


Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/YAT321290.htm

---

Blast at revered Shi'ite shrine in Iraq's Samarra
13 Jun 2007 06:54:07 GMT

BAGHDAD, June 13 (Reuters) - Militants blew up two minarets of a revered Shi'ite mosque in the Iraqi city of Samarra on Wednesday, targeting a shrine that had already been badly damaged in a 2006 attack, Shi'ite officials said.

One witness said the minarets at Samarra's Golden Mosque had been largely destroyed. The attack on the mosque last year was a turning point in Iraq, sparking a wave of sectarian violence that has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed the country to the brink of all-out civil war.

"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 Shi'ite endowment in Iraq, a major religious body, told Reuters.

He blamed "extremists" for the attack. It was unclear exactly how the minarets had been blown up, but residents said there had been clashes between gunmen and police in the area before the explosion.

A senior Iraqi government official said the attack was "very bad news for Iraq".

more:http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L13695097.htm

Iraqi police say famous shrine attacked
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD - Insurgents on Wednesday blew up the two minarets of the Golden Dome Shiite shrine in Samarra, where a 2006 bombing unleashed a wave of sectarian violence that bloodied Iraq for more than a year, Iraqi police and a security official said.

The attack, which police said involved explosives, occurred around 9 a.m., despite a police presence at the site, officials said. There were no reports of casualties.

It could not immediately be determined how the attackers evaded the guard force.

Police in Samarra spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, and a security official in Baghdad confirmed the account on the same condition.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070613/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

[Selatius]

1. And a new wave of reprisals will begin following this attack...

[Kagemusha]

2. Bush acts like he figured no new outside events could make things worse.

That the surge would go on his and only his timetable and that nothing could derail it and his only true enemy was congressional de-funding and interference.

It was foolish then and now it is merely proven so.

[Eugene]

3. Iraqi bridge blown up, say police

Source: Reuters

Iraqi bridge blown up, say police
13 Jun 2007 05:58:21 GMT
Source: Reuters

BAGHDAD, June 13 (Reuters) - A bridge between the
northern Iraqi cities of Kirkuk and Tikrit was blown up
by bombs overnight in the latest attack against the
country's infrastructure, police said on Wednesday.

No one was hurt as traffic is banned at night on
many Iraqi roads as a security precaution, but the
police said the attack had cut off villages southwest
of Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad.

Insurgents have been targeting major bridges in
Baghdad and other areas as part of an apparent new
tactic to disrupt life and isolate communities. In
April, part of the Sarafiya bridge over the Tigris
river in the capital was destroyed.

Link: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BUL320476.htm

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Another day, another bridge. :(

[maddezmom]

4. is that four bridges since Sunday?

[Eugene]

6. Yes, that was the 4th bridge in as many days.

As of Tuesday: Bombings target 3 key bridges in Iraq

[badgervan]

5. O.K. - I'll be the First :

Now the Shi'ite is really gonna hit the fan.

[maddezmom]

7. Shi'ite Sadr movement urges calm after shrine attack

BAGHDAD, June 13 (Reuters) - The Shi'ite group loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr urged its supporters on Wednesday to exercise calm after militants again attacked a revered Shi'ite mosque in the Iraqi city of Samarra.

After the bombing of the Golden Shrine of Samarra in 2006, which left it partly destroyed, militants from the Mehdi Army militia, loyal to Sadr, targeted members of Iraq's Sunni Arab community in Baghdad in revenge.

"Our reaction is the opposite of what the occupation wants. We are calling on our people to show restraint, unity and to reject sectarian strife. We are also urging them to exercise calm," said Abdul Mahdi al-Mutiri, a senior Sadr movement official.

more:http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/KAR629405.htm

[Eugene]

8. 26 bodies found in Baghdad Tues.; journalist kidnapped; chlorine bombing - Reuters Factbox

Source: Reuters

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, June 13
13 Jun 2007 08:00:42 GMT
Source: Reuters

June 13 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq
at 0730 GMT on Wednesday:

-snip-

BAGHDAD - The bodies of 26 people were found in different parts
of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said. They had been shot.

-snip-

KHAN BANI SAAD - One person was killed and eight wounded on
Tuesday when a truck laden with chlorine exploded near an Iraqi
army base in the town of Khan Bani Saad, about 30 km (20 miles)
northeast of Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - Gunmen kidnapped Filaih Wadi Mijthab, managing editor
of the state-run al-Sabah daily newspaper, in Habibiya in eastern
Baghdad, police said.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BUL328125.htm

[maddezmom]

9. Senior Iraqi journalist kidnapped in Baghdad -police

More BAGHDAD, June 13 (Reuters) - A senior Iraqi journalist was kidnapped on Wednesday in Baghdad, police said, in the latest attack against the media in Iraq.

Gunmen in a convoy of cars seized Filaih Wadi Mijthab, managing editor of the state-run al-Sabah daily newspaper, while he was being driven with his son in Shi'ite-dominated Sadr City in east Baghdad. The son and driver were not taken.

The media has been consistently targeted in Iraq's bloody sectarian conflict, making it one of the most dangerous places in the world to report.

Mijthab's abduction would be the eighth of a journalist this year in the country, according to a count kept by the Paris-based media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders, in addition to the 27 who have died while doing their job.
more:http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BUL331840.htm

[maddezmom]

10. Maliki meets Pataeus and asks for reinforcements in Samarra

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki immediately met with the U.S. commander in Iraq to ask that American reinforcements be sent into Samarra to help head off new violence in the flashpoint city, 60 miles north of Baghdad, al-Maliki's office said.

The powerful blasts shook the town, sending a cloud of dust billowing into the air, said Imad Nagi, a storeowner 100 yards from the shrine. "After the dust settled, I couldn't see the minarets any more. So, I closed the shop quickly and went home."

It wasn't immediately clear how the attackers evaded the shrine's guard force, which had been strengthened after the 2006 bombing.

In the aftermath of Wednesday's explosions, police in the shrine area began firing into the air to keep people away, witnesses said, and Iraqi army and police reinforcements poured in. A national police force under command of a major general was ordered to move immediately to Samarra, said an Interior Ministry official.

~snip~

Al-Maliki, in his meeting with U.S. commander Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, asked that U.S. troops in Baghdad be put on a higher alert to head off any upsurge in Sunni-Shiite bloodshed, said an al-Maliki aide, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The aide and other officials spoke on condition of anonymity, either because of the sensitivity of the matter or because they were not authorized to share the information.

The U.S. command had no immediate comment on such military moves.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070613/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_ylt=Ain7eISOCNYlL_8fU8furcULewgF

[maddezmom]

11. pics

Pilgrims walk in front of the famous Golden Dome Shiite shrine in Samarra in this February 2004 file photo. Insurgents blew up the two of the shrine's minarets in Samarra, Wednesday, June 13, 2007. The Askariya shrine's dome was earlier destroyed on Feb. 22, 2006, in a bombing blamed on Sunni Muslim militants believed linked to al-Qaida that unleashed a wave of sectarian violence that continues to bloody Iraq. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)


Iraqis walk past the damaged Askariya shrine following an explosion in Samarra, 95 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad, in this Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2006 file photo. Insurgents blew up the two of the repaired shrine's minarets in Samarra, Wednesday, June 13, 2007. The Askariya shrine's dome was earlier destroyed on Feb. 22, 2006, in a bombing blamed on Sunni Muslim militants believed linked to al-Qaida that unleashed a wave of sectarian violence that continues to bloody Iraq. (AP Photo/Hameed Rasheed, File)


The Golden Mosque is seen in Samara, 96km (60 miles) north of Baghdad, February 22, 2007. Militants blew up two minarets of a revered Shi'ite mosque in the Iraqi city of Samarra on Wednesday, targeting a shrine that was bombed last year in an attack that triggered a wave of sectarian bloodshed. (Sabah al-Bazee/Reuters)


The destroyed Shiite al-Askari shrine in the restive city of Samarra, north of Baghdad. Suspected Sunni insurgents blew up the minarets of the revered Shiite shrine in the Iraqi town, 15 months after its bombing by Al-Qaeda militants ignited brutal sectarian clashes.(AFP/Dia Hamid)

[Celefin]

13. Just a few days after the US announced they are arming Sunnis

Might there be a pattern here?
Nobody could ever have expected that the Sunnis might be emboldened
by their sudden access to free US arms supplies.

Thanks for the pictures.
How easy it is to destroy so many years of history... and future, for that matter.

[Barrett808]

21. Welcome to DU, Celefin!

:hi:

[Eugene]

12. Iraq govt imposes Baghdad curfew from 3 pm (1100 GMT)

Source: Reuters

Iraq govt imposes Baghdad curfew from 3 pm (1100 GMT)
13 Jun 2007 09:16:54 GMT
Source: Reuters

BAGHDAD, June 13 (Reuters) - The Iraqi government will impose
a total curfew on Baghdad from 3 p.m. (1100 GMT) until further
notice, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office said on Wednesday.

The curfew was imposed after insurgents blew up two minarets
of a revered Shi'ite mosque in the city of Samarra, where a
similar attack last year sparked a wave of sectarian violence.

Link: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L13815847.htm

---

Original headline: IRAQ GOVT TO IMPOSE CURFEW IN BAGHDAD FROM 3 P.M. (1100 GMT) UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE - PM'S OFFICE

[maddezmom]

14. Iraq PM blames al Qaeda for the mosque attack & orders the security force at mosque arrested

BAGHDAD, June 13 (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Wednesday blamed Sunni Islamist al Qaeda and supporters of Saddam Hussein for an attack on a revered Shi'ite shrine in the city of Samarra.

Speaking on state television, Maliki said he believed other mosques could be targeted and that he had asked Iraq's security forces to step up security around them.

He said he had ordered the arrest of all the security forces responsible for protecting the shrine.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L13862849.htm

[maddezmom]

16. U.S. general: Samarra mosque bombing an inside job; 15 security force members arrested

U.S. general: Samarra mosque bombing an inside job; 15 security force members arrested
BAGHDAD (CNN) -- A U.S. military official on Wednesday said authorities have evidence that the bombing of the Askariya Mosque in Samarra on Wednesday was an inside job, and 15 members of the Iraqi security forces have been arrested.

Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, commander of the Multi-National Division-North, told CNN's Karl Penhaul that he believes members of the Iraqi security forces who were guarding the site either assisted or directly took part in helping al Qaeda insurgents place and detonate explosives at the mosque's minarets.

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/06/13/wednesday/index.html?section=cnn_latest

[Eugene]

17. Maliki always blames AQ and the the "Saddamists" when stuff like this happens.

Given the recent in-fighting and side-switching in the Sunni
insurgency, Maliki's claim is even less credible and more
unhelpful than usual.

And that is without the possibility of the attack being an
inside job (mentioned in Reply #16).

[maddezmom]

22. and they always have proof...but never seem to be able to share it

[maddezmom]

15. Suicide bomber kills five Kurdish policemen

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq (AFP) - A suicide bomber walked into the office of a police chief of a Kurdish Shiite town on Wednesday and blew himself up killing five policemen, a police officer said.

"The bomber wearing an explosives belt walked into the police station of Mandeli and entered the office of the station chief at around 8:30 am (0430 GMT)," said Nadhom Sharief.

"He then blew himself up and killed five policeman and wounded two, including the police station chief."
more:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070613/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestsulaimaniyah_070613104624;_ylt=AkSDiAtVlbrdsHCZRJRFbgdX6GMA

[sabra]

18. Sadr denounces Samarra attack, calls for self-restraint

http://66.111.34.180/look/english/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrArticle=48129&NrIssue=2&NrSection=1

Baghdad, June 13, (VOI)- Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Wednesday strongly denounced the bombing attack against two Shiite minarets in the city of Samarra, calling for self-restraint.

Al-Sadr accused, in a statement delivered by al-Sadr's media spokesman Salah al-Ubaidi, foreign troops of plotting to blow up the two minarets.
"No Sunni or Muslim could do such an act," al-Sadr added in the statement.

Police sources said earlier that the two minarets from the Shiite Ali al-Hadi and Hassan Askary shrines in the city of Samarra were blown up on Wednesday morning.
He held U.S. forces and the Iraqi government responsible, saying, "We appeal to the Iraqi people to foil the U.S. and Israeli plot which aims to split Iraq's unity."

"All political and religious powers have to unify their efforts to rebuild the two shrines to avoid an eruption into sectarian and civil war, and if no one is able to protect them we are," the Shiite cleric added.
He called for three days of mourning, demonstrations, and a sit-in to show that Iraq's only enemy is the "occupation forces."

[sabra]

19. Ahmadinejad Warns U.S. Forces Over Samarra Shrine Explosion

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aCgAcjTsF.tw&refer=home

June 13 (Bloomberg) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned U.S. forces in Iraq over explosions at the Shiite Muslim shrine of Samarra, saying the attack will add to complications for the ``occupying forces'' in withdrawing from the country.

``By agreeing to such moves, you are making it harder for yourselves,'' Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying today by the state-run Iranian Students News Agency. ``Don't act in a way so that no one in the region will want to help you get out of Iraq,'' he said in a speech in the province of Semnan, according to ISNA.

Iran and Iraq both have Shiite Muslim majorities. Iran says the U.S. presence in neighboring Iraq is the source of discord and conflict between Muslims in the region.

[Eugene]

20. Sunni mosque south of Baghdad blown up -police

Source: Reuters

Sunni mosque south of Baghdad blown up -police
13 Jun 2007 15:40:14 GMT
Source: Reuters

BAGHDAD, June 13 (Reuters) - Gunmen blew up a major Sunni
mosque in the Iraqi town of Iskandariya on Wednesday, police
said, following an attack on a revered Shi'ite shrine that has
stirred fears of a surge in sectarian bloodshed.

Police said Iskandariya's Grand Mosque had been totally
destroyed. Witnesses said the town, which lies south of
Baghdad, was tense in the wake of the bombing.

Link: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L13888326.htm