This is bad....
Byrnzie
Posts: 21,037
Wednesday, 13 June 2007, 07:19 GMT 08:19 UK
Blast hits key Iraq Shia shrine
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6747419.stm
The two minarets of the al-Askari shrine in Iraq, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, have been damaged by two explosions, officials say.
According to witnesses the minarets collapsed completely after being hit by bomb blasts around 0900 (0500 GMT).
The shrine houses one of two tombs in Samarra for revered Shia imams.
The bombing of the dome at the mosque in 2006 is widely believed to have set off a continuing spiral of sectarian violence in which many thousands died.
The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says there are obvious fears now that this might give it yet further impetus.
The head of the Shia endowment foundation said the minarets had been blown up by "extremists".
"It is a terrorist attack aimed at sparking sectarian violence," Sheikh Saleh al-Haidari told the AFP news agency.
A senior government official said it was very bad news for Iraq.
Sources in Samarra said the city had been put under an immediate curfew.
Samarra is mainly a Sunni Muslim stronghold and has been a centre of the armed insurgency against US troops and the Shia-dominated Iraqi administration.
The al-Askari shrine is part of the Imam Ali al-Hadi mausoleum, which contains the remains of the 10th and 11th imams, reputed to be direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad.
Imam Ali al-Hadi died in 868 AD and his son, Hassan al-Askari, died in 874 AD.
The attack in February last year was widely believed to be the work of Sunni militants from the al-Qaeda movement, some of whom were later arrested.
Our correspondent says there are bound to be questions about how such an obvious and significant target could have been attacked again.
Blast hits key Iraq Shia shrine
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6747419.stm
The two minarets of the al-Askari shrine in Iraq, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, have been damaged by two explosions, officials say.
According to witnesses the minarets collapsed completely after being hit by bomb blasts around 0900 (0500 GMT).
The shrine houses one of two tombs in Samarra for revered Shia imams.
The bombing of the dome at the mosque in 2006 is widely believed to have set off a continuing spiral of sectarian violence in which many thousands died.
The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says there are obvious fears now that this might give it yet further impetus.
The head of the Shia endowment foundation said the minarets had been blown up by "extremists".
"It is a terrorist attack aimed at sparking sectarian violence," Sheikh Saleh al-Haidari told the AFP news agency.
A senior government official said it was very bad news for Iraq.
Sources in Samarra said the city had been put under an immediate curfew.
Samarra is mainly a Sunni Muslim stronghold and has been a centre of the armed insurgency against US troops and the Shia-dominated Iraqi administration.
The al-Askari shrine is part of the Imam Ali al-Hadi mausoleum, which contains the remains of the 10th and 11th imams, reputed to be direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad.
Imam Ali al-Hadi died in 868 AD and his son, Hassan al-Askari, died in 874 AD.
The attack in February last year was widely believed to be the work of Sunni militants from the al-Qaeda movement, some of whom were later arrested.
Our correspondent says there are bound to be questions about how such an obvious and significant target could have been attacked again.
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
why cant all these religious sheiks call for peace as the claim its what their religion is all about?
Said the US commander after the bombing, "Oops were you guys using that?"
art.golden.mosque.afp.gi.jpg
A man on Wednesday points to Al-Askariya Mosque in Samarra after a blast destroyed the shrine's two towers.
Click to view previous image
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The attack Wednesday destroyed two towers, referred to as minarets, at the revered Shiite shrine, police said. It was a repeat of the 2006 bombing that sparked Iraq's current wave of deadly sectarian violence.
There was no immediate word on casualties in the city north of Baghdad.
The U.S. military official, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, 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.
"He told me there was no evidence at all that this was an attack using mortars or anything of the like and said, in his words, that this was an inside job," Penhaul told CNN's "American Morning."
Mixon said an additional Iraqi army brigade will be sent to Samarra. So far, there have been no reports of sectarian clashes in the city.
http://www.beta.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/06/13/iraq.main/index.html
Post of the day!
I'm almost wondering if Bush was just playing dumb on not knowing about the different types of Iraqi's to the media. It seems insane to think otherwise, like he could possibly be that dense and unaware with so many meetings, daily briefings, and endless paperwork..not to mention the CIA. I'm sure he plays the idiot card to his advantage....daily.
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
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And I'm surprised no one made a comment about the twin towers/minarets.
But that's just me.
I'm not so sure. I think that Americans need to take full responsibility for this mess. For them to just pull out now would be a catastrophe. And don't forget the reason that the U.S invaded in the first place. Oil. Pure and simple. Dya think the fat bellies in D.C and the fish heads at the tops of Halliburton, Exxon Mobile, e.t.c are gonna just walk away from all that wealth? I'm not sure. But one thing I do know is that they couldn't give two fucks about the soldiers on the ground being maimed and killed to protect their inflated bank balances.
Ultimately yeah this is what I believe...At this point I'm like fuck it...I'm just so tired of hearing about it...it's going to go on until the oil is gone.
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
(\__/)
( o.O)
(")_(")
The same reason why Church Leaders cannot reel in the Ku Klux Klan. Islamic fanatics are to Islam as the K.K.K. is to Christianity. Calling Islam a violent religion because of the actions of these fanatics is the same as calling Christianity racist because of the actions of the Klan. Neither religion embraces these extremists... yet, both extremist groups use their respective religions as an excuse to carry out their extremist actions.
Hail, Hail!!!