Shrine attack raises Iraqi tension
Shrine attack raises Iraqi tension
By Steve Negus,Iraq Correspondent
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: June 14 2007 03:00 | Last updated: June 14 2007 03:00
A second bomb attack on one of Shia Islam's most holy shrines in Iraq has raised fears of another surge in sectarian violence.
The attack, which destroyed the minarets of the Askariya shrine in the central Iraqi town of Samarra, was blamed on al-Qaeda and seen as an attempt to rekindle Sunni-Shia violence, which has declined in recent months. It threatened to dash hopes that a deployment of US forces could permanently interrupt the 15-month cycle of violence sparked by the first attack on the Askariya shrine in February 2006.
Shia religious leaders moved quickly to urge their followers not to retaliate.
Nuri al-Maliki, Iraqi prime minister, imposed an indefinite curfew in Baghdad and Samarra and deployed extra troops in an apparent bid to prevent militias from fanning out across the city to attack Sunni targets, as they did in 2006.
The dome of the shrine was demolished in 2006,an attack also blamed onal-Qaeda that caused a surge in sectarian violence and left tens of thousands dead.
The reprisal attacks by Shia militia gave al-Qaeda, which already had bases in some Sunni communities, an opportunity to make new inroads into other areas, organising neighbourhood defence and retaliation against Shia militias. More recently its influence has apparently diminished after several Sunni organisations turned against it.
According to police, explosives brought down the two minarets which had flanked the dome's ruins, but without casualties.
A statement from Ryan Crocker, US ambassador to Iraq, and General David Petraeus, military commander, declared the attack to be "a deliberate attempt by al-Qaeda to sow dissent and inflame sectarian strife among the people of Iraq".
Questions are being asked about how the shrine could have come under attack again. Samarra lies in the Sunni Arab heartland in central Iraq and has in the past been a stronghold for insurgents, but a strong contingent of Iraqi security forces, including commandos, had been stationed near the mosque since February 2006.
The ineffectiveness of Iraqi security in protecting the shrine is likely to undermine Shia confidence in government forces and bolster support for militia death squads as the only effective response to Sunni insurgent attacks.
Within hours of the bombing, radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose followers were blamed for murdering thousands of Sunnis after the 2006 attack, called for peaceful demonstrations and three days of mourning to mark the minarets' destruction.
Mr Sadr appeared to be attempting to defuse the potential for retaliatory attacks against Sunni communities, with whom he is trying to cultivate ties. A statement in his name called on Iraqis to "shout the call to prayer from Sunni and Shia mosques" and suggested the "hidden hands of the occupation" were to blame for the minarets' -demolition.
Spokesmen for the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani also called for restraint.
The Sadrists also pulled the 30 deputies associated with their movement from parliament, demanding that the government restore the Samarra shrine and other religious buildings, both Sunni and Shia, damaged or destroyed in the past few years.
A resident of Sadr City, the main Baghdad support base for the Sadrist movement, said angry citizens had flocked to mosques and Sadrist party offices, where they were being told not to retaliate.
He said the incident had inflamed Shia anger against US forces, who have stepped up operations against the Sadrists' Mahdi Army militia - the primary target of the US troop surge begun in February. The Sadrists say the US has manifestly failed to defend Shia religious targets.
Mr Sadr has often tried to deflect Shia anger against Sunni radicals on to the US and the incident, even if it does not exacerbate sectarian violence, might increase attacks on US troops.
Tension between US and Sadrist forces has been high and there have been clashes in recent days in the southern city of Diwaniyah.
Attacks on Sunni civilians by Shia militias declined sharply in March and April after the US troop surge but have begun to edge back up.
By Steve Negus,Iraq Correspondent
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: June 14 2007 03:00 | Last updated: June 14 2007 03:00
A second bomb attack on one of Shia Islam's most holy shrines in Iraq has raised fears of another surge in sectarian violence.
The attack, which destroyed the minarets of the Askariya shrine in the central Iraqi town of Samarra, was blamed on al-Qaeda and seen as an attempt to rekindle Sunni-Shia violence, which has declined in recent months. It threatened to dash hopes that a deployment of US forces could permanently interrupt the 15-month cycle of violence sparked by the first attack on the Askariya shrine in February 2006.
Shia religious leaders moved quickly to urge their followers not to retaliate.
Nuri al-Maliki, Iraqi prime minister, imposed an indefinite curfew in Baghdad and Samarra and deployed extra troops in an apparent bid to prevent militias from fanning out across the city to attack Sunni targets, as they did in 2006.
The dome of the shrine was demolished in 2006,an attack also blamed onal-Qaeda that caused a surge in sectarian violence and left tens of thousands dead.
The reprisal attacks by Shia militia gave al-Qaeda, which already had bases in some Sunni communities, an opportunity to make new inroads into other areas, organising neighbourhood defence and retaliation against Shia militias. More recently its influence has apparently diminished after several Sunni organisations turned against it.
According to police, explosives brought down the two minarets which had flanked the dome's ruins, but without casualties.
A statement from Ryan Crocker, US ambassador to Iraq, and General David Petraeus, military commander, declared the attack to be "a deliberate attempt by al-Qaeda to sow dissent and inflame sectarian strife among the people of Iraq".
Questions are being asked about how the shrine could have come under attack again. Samarra lies in the Sunni Arab heartland in central Iraq and has in the past been a stronghold for insurgents, but a strong contingent of Iraqi security forces, including commandos, had been stationed near the mosque since February 2006.
The ineffectiveness of Iraqi security in protecting the shrine is likely to undermine Shia confidence in government forces and bolster support for militia death squads as the only effective response to Sunni insurgent attacks.
Within hours of the bombing, radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose followers were blamed for murdering thousands of Sunnis after the 2006 attack, called for peaceful demonstrations and three days of mourning to mark the minarets' destruction.
Mr Sadr appeared to be attempting to defuse the potential for retaliatory attacks against Sunni communities, with whom he is trying to cultivate ties. A statement in his name called on Iraqis to "shout the call to prayer from Sunni and Shia mosques" and suggested the "hidden hands of the occupation" were to blame for the minarets' -demolition.
Spokesmen for the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani also called for restraint.
The Sadrists also pulled the 30 deputies associated with their movement from parliament, demanding that the government restore the Samarra shrine and other religious buildings, both Sunni and Shia, damaged or destroyed in the past few years.
A resident of Sadr City, the main Baghdad support base for the Sadrist movement, said angry citizens had flocked to mosques and Sadrist party offices, where they were being told not to retaliate.
He said the incident had inflamed Shia anger against US forces, who have stepped up operations against the Sadrists' Mahdi Army militia - the primary target of the US troop surge begun in February. The Sadrists say the US has manifestly failed to defend Shia religious targets.
Mr Sadr has often tried to deflect Shia anger against Sunni radicals on to the US and the incident, even if it does not exacerbate sectarian violence, might increase attacks on US troops.
Tension between US and Sadrist forces has been high and there have been clashes in recent days in the southern city of Diwaniyah.
Attacks on Sunni civilians by Shia militias declined sharply in March and April after the US troop surge but have begun to edge back up.
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