From AP
SAMARRA, Iraq – Insurgents detonated bombs inside one of Iraq’s holiest Shiite shrines Wednesday, destroying its golden dome and triggering more than 60 reprisal attacks on Sunni mosques. The president warned that extremists were pushing the country toward civil war, as many Shiites lashed out at the United States as partly to blame.
As the gold dome of the 1,200-year-old Askariya shrine lay in ruins, leaders on both sides called for calm: But the string of back-and-forth attacks seemed to push the country closer to all-out civil war than at any point in the three years since the U.S.-led overthrow of
Saddam Hussein.
“We are facing a major conspiracy that is targeting Iraq’s unity,” said President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd. “We should all stand hand in hand to prevent the danger of a civil war.”
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An armed Iraqi takes part in a rally in reaction to the explosion at a Shiite shrine.
An Iraqi child holds a weapon as Shi’ites take to the streets during a protest in Baghdad’s Sad’r city February 22, 2006. A dawn bomb attack wrecked a major Shi’ite Muslim shrine in the Iraqi city of Samarra on Wednesday, sparking street protests and forcing the government to issue an urgent appeal to avert sectarian reprisals. REUTERS/Kareem Raheem Email Photo Print Photo
From Iraq the Model
“Right now there’s heavy deployment for the police and other security forces with more frequent checkpoints that are stop-searching cars more often than they usually do. Sporadic gunfire is heard in different spots in Baghdad but no one knows for sure if the firing meant clashes or mere angry shooting in the air.
From where I’m sitting now I can hear both Sunni and Shia mosques are condemning the attack through their loudspeakers.
I believe there are foreign terror groups behind this attack and I don’t think local insurgent would do such a thing, simply because this particular shrine had been in Sunni territory for a thousand years and the residents of Samarra had always benefited from the movement of religious tourism and pilgrimage.
Things look scary here in Baghdad and I hope there won’t be more updates to report as I can’t see a positive thing coming out of this…”
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From Reuters
U.S. and Iraqi forces are battling a largely Sunni Arab insurgency against the Shi’ite- and Kurdish-led government in Baghdad.
**BAGHDAD – At least 28 Sunni mosques and an office for the Iraqi Islamic Party in Baghdad were attacked by gunmen after the bomb blast in Samarra. Police said one mosque was completely burnt while others were attacked by gunfire and rocket propelled grenades. Three clerics and three bodyguards were killed, and another cleric was kidnapped, according to interior ministry sources. Gunmen used rifles and RPG rounds in the latest mosque attack, in the southern Saidaya district of Baghdad, a witness said.
**Hussein al-Falluji, a leading Sunni politician, reported attacks on at least 75 Sunni mosques around the country with most in eastern Baghdad.
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Wild Thing’s comment….
I wouldn’t know one mosque from another and could care less. What I do know is that our troops are there and I want them to be as safe as possible. The insurgents that did the original bombing only show that the death cult does not (once again) respect others in their own cult.
We ( America) on the other hand have ways of dealing with people like insurgents and we don’t deliever our wrath half assed. God bless our Troops!
This has Iran’s slimey fingerprints all over it, and sooner rather than later, it will all spin out of control. I expect Iranian divisions to cross the Iraqi border within a year or so, beginning the first phase of the total obliteration of Iran as a functioning country, and the deaths of ten million people or more. We’ll start with the mullahs and Ahmadinejad, and I hope they fry slowly.
The Shi’a have lots of complaints against the Sunnis, but this is very far along in the process toward some kind of Iraqi democracy. Nothing justifies it at this point except the meddling of the psychopathic mullahs and monkey-gland mutant Ahmadinejad. The sooner that this clot of Islamist maggots is eliminated the better. Tomorrow if possible.
Rhod and I are on the same page with this latest attack, I too firmly believe that Iran is behind this, along with Syrian help. If only the Iraqi’s could unite they could stop the butchery, but there are centuries of treachery that has inbred their mutual hatred of not only themselves but all mankind. The sooner we pull out the better, then let them kill each other. We need to nuke them if they try any attacks against the US, not tit for tat but total annihilation to permanently eliminate future threats.
Rhod I had not thought of that. That slime from Iran would do something like this.
“The sooner that this clot of Islamist maggots is eliminated the better. Tomorrow if possible”
I agree there is no other way to handle this.
Jack, I had hoped so much that Iraqi could unite, but I keep seeing they just can’t. Like you said, too many years of complaints and treachery.
I think this is the muslim natural state, killing each other. It was so great in the 80s when Reagan encouraged the Iranis and Iraqis to continue their war. Neither country had much extra steam to screw with the West. Let them use those hidden WMDs on each other, and the Israelis can finish off the survivors.
I am afraid though that we are too involved to pull out.
Hi Tom I know exactly what you mean.
I blame Clinton for a lot of it because he did not fight back and he let them think they could attack more and more and they did. We had to answer but we need to keep letting the Military fight this war and not politicians. That is one of the huge things that happened in Vietnam. The Military won the Vietnam War, it was the idiotic politicians that lost it at least to the world.
Can you imagine if every politican backed up our Military instead of the cut and run dems mouthing off like they do. And no one ever protested against the war. What a mighty force we would have behind our troops. They deserve it too.
And then go and bomb the heck out of the areas….daisy cutter them, and take no prisoners attitude with NO media taking apart piece by piece every move our troops do.
Thanks so much for your comment Tom! I miss Reagan!