Sunni mosque south of Baghdad blown up -police

[sabra]

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.

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L13888326.htm

[peacebird]

1. so, how's that Surge working for you, Gen. BetrayUs?

:eyes:

[atreides1]

2. Souldn't it be BetrayThem

Because that's exactly what he's doing betraying the men and women under his command, so that he can
please his Leader!!!

[lyonn]

3. Bush's Plan: The Surge

We "secure" Baghdad since it is the capitol. This will allow the Iraqi govt. to get their act and military together. So far Baghdad is far from secure. Bridges being destroyed. Shiite and Sunni Mosques blown up. The last time the Shiite mosque was blasted all hell broke loose. Things have gone down hill since then. It appears the "insurgents" (?) have us on the run.

Waiting until September, 4 months!!, sounds like a suicidal idea for our troops and the Iraqis.

Gaza is under attack. Jordon is under attack. And there are still Americans that don't see what is happening. They still believe we are bringing Democracy to the world?? That includes many lawmakers on the Hill. How will the powerful Dems on the Hill present their New proposals for ending the war which was mentioned late yesterday?

Can we throw the bastard out now?

[maddezmom]

4. have they put the town on locked down yet?

[Tempest]

5. Is this the progress we keep hearing about?

U.S. and Iraqi forces couldn't stop the Shiite shrine bombing, despite having increased security in the area, and then they couldn't prevent the retalitory Sunni mosque bombing.

Mission Accomplished!

[maddezmom]

6. Authorities urge calm in wake of strike on Shiite mosque amid reports of retaliation against Sunnis

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Authorities are appealing for calm in the wake of another bombing at Al-Askariya Mosque -- a major Shiite shrine in Samarra -- but reports of apparent retaliatory attacks against Sunnis are emerging.

Police have reported the torching of a Sunni mosque in a Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad, gunfire in Shiite neighborhoods in the capital, and the bombings of two Sunni mosques in Iskandariya in Babil province.

~snip~

Police in Hilla said militia members have stormed the Iskandariya Grand Mosque, a Sunni mosque south of Baghdad, and blew it up with explosives. Around the same time another Sunni mosque in Iskandariya -- Abdullah al-Jabouri mosque -- was attacked by militiamen, who used explosives to destroy its minarets.

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

[sabra]

7. Three mosques blown up south of Baghdad

http://66.111.34.180/look/english/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrArticle=48148&NrIssue=2&NrSection=1



Baghdad, Jun 13, (VOI) - Unknown gunmen exploded three Sunni mosques south of Baghdad on Wednesday, only hours after gunmen blew up two minarets of the Shiite golden mosque in Samarra, a security source said.

"Three mosques were brought down after unknown gunmen detonated explosives inside them," the source, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

The three mosques were the Grand Iskandariyah Mosque, Hiteen Mosque and Abdullah Mosque in al-Iskanderiyah district, 60 km south of Baghdad, the source added.
The source did not say if there were casualties because of the attacks.
Earlier on Wednesday police sources and eyewitnesses said the two minarets of Shiite Ali al-Hadi and Hassan Askary shrines in the city of Samarra were blown up during the morning.
Iraqi officials and clerics denounced the destruction of the two minarets and urged people to show self-restraint.

...

Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, in a statement, strongly denounced the bombing attack against two Shiite minarets in the city of Samarra, calling for self-restraint.
The Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq condemned the bombing attack that targeted the shrine minarets in Samarra on Wednesday, holding the U.S. "occupying" forces and the current Iraqi government fully responsible for the attack.

[maddezmom]

9. I'll echo post #8

depressing but not shocking :(

[Enrique]

8. this is depressing

I'm going to turn on Fox News, where they don't bother us with Iraq stuff.

[maddezmom]

11. did you see this?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x34272

BTW, welcome to DU :hi:

[Enrique]

12. no, I hadn't seen that

man, that Bob guy is awful. :puke:

[Barrett808]

10. That didn't take long. n/t

[bvar22]

13. Who wants to keep troops in Iraq??????

Clinton/Obama

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- If elected president, Sen. Hillary Clinton said, she would likely keep some U.S. forces in Iraq in a supporting role after 2009 because America has "a remaining military as well as a political mission" that requires a presence there.
However, in an interview with The New York Times published Thursday, Clinton said the American troops would not play a role in trying to curb sectarian violence.
Rather, they would be positioned north of Baghdad to combat terrorists, support the Kurds, counter any Iranian moves into Iraq and provide logistical, air and training support to the Iraqi government "if the Iraqis ever get their act together."
Obama outlined a plan for maintaining a U.S. presence in Iraq similar to Clinton's.
"Withdrawal would be gradual, and we'd keep some U.S. troops in the region to prevent a wide war, to go after al Qaeda and other terrorists," he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/03/15/clinton.troops/index.html



------------------------------
"In the audio report, Koppel points out that in a recent debate Senator Hillary Clinton said that her first priority if elected would be to "bring our troops home." She did not say ALL our troops, Koppel points out, and she does not mean ALL our troops. She told the New York Times three months ago that some forces would have to remain. And Koppel adds that he spoke with someone from the Pentagon who briefs Clinton, and that she had told this person that if she is elected and reelected, she expects to have troops in Iraq at the end of her second term. Koppel notes that that's 10 years away. He adds that he thinks she's "right" and that the other Democratic candidates agree with her."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3312567




Just thought everyone should know.