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Iraq's Sistani urges protests over mosque
bombing
22.2.2006
News about the Arab part of Iraq |
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BAGHDAD, Feb 22
(Reuters) - Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric, Ayatollah Ali
al-Sistani, called on Wednesday for protests over
the blast that destroyed a Shi'ite shrine in the
town of Samarra.
A statement from his office said Sistani also called
for seven days of mourning over the destruction of
the shrine, where two revered Shi'ite imams are
buried. The attack, by gunmen who entered the shrine
at dawn and planted bombs there, is likely to
heighten already severe tension between Iraq's
Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims.
Thousands protest bombing of Shiite mausoleum in
Iraq
SAMARRA, Iraq (AFP) - Thousands of angry
Iraqi Shiites took to the streets of Samarra, north
of Baghdad, after bombers struck one of their most
celebrated shrines in an attack likely to fuel
sectarian strife.
Waving the green flags of Islam and the national
Iraqi colours, thousands rallied in the centre of
Samarra vowing to punish those responsible for
attacking the Imam Ali al-Hadi mausoleum whose
golden dome collapsed after two bombs exploded
inside the mosque.
"A group of armed men attacked the mausoleum of Imam
Ali al-Hadi at 7:00 am (0400 GMT), neutralized the
policemen guarding the building before placing two
explosives charges and blowing them up," police
said.
There were no immediate reports of injuries, but
angry demonstrators called for immediate retribution
against the bombers, shouting "You will not escape
us".
Shops closed and muezzins recited prayers from the
loudspeakers of nearby mosques and blamed the United
States for the turmoil, saying "God is Great, death
to America which brought us terrorism."
Demonstrators carried the turban, sword and shield
said to have belonged to Ali al-Hadi, the 10th
Shiite imam, shouting "Iman, we are your soldiers".
Tension spread to Baghdad where many Shiites also
gathered outside mosques and the headquarters of
Shiite political parties.
An official close to Shiite radical leader Moqtada
Sadr said the army had turned away young men who had
tried to take buses to go to Samarra.
A senior Shiite religious leader, Grand Ayatollah
Bashir al Najafi, said the attack was "an odious
attack on the heart of Islam and of Iraq and an
attempt to stir up sectarianism," his son, Ali
Bashir, told AFP. |
Photo: AP |
The mausoleum to the 10th Shiite imam in the town,
is an important pilgrimage centre for Shiites.
The head of the Sunni religious endowment
organisation, Ahmad Abdel Ghaffur al-Samarrai,
immediately condemned the attack, terming it "a
criminal act".
The mausoleum which houses the tombs of the 10th and
11th Imams, both sacred to Shiites and Sunnis, is an
important pilgrimage centre for Shiites.
Iman Ali al-Hadi died in 868.
The attack was seen as likely to further raise
tension between the majority Shiite and minority
Sunni communities in the country at a time when
political factions bicker over the formation of a
'national unity' government.
The attack came a day after a car bomb killed at
least 21 in a mainly Shiite market of Baghdad and
two days after another bomb wounded dozens of Shiite
daily labourers waiting to work in the capital.
The attacks bore the hallmarks of previous strikes
by Sunni extremists allied to Al Qaeda in Iraq on
Shiites, who make up 60 percent of Iraq's population
and whose political parties won a majority of
parliamentary seats in December elections.
AFP
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