• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Shi'ite Leader Calls For Restraint In Wake Of Samarra Bombing

24 February 2006 -- A senior Iraqi Shi'ite leader, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, has called for Sunni-Shi'ite unity and urged restraint in the wake of the bombing of one of the holiest Shi'ites shrines on 22 February.

The bombing of the Golden Mosque sparked a wave of sectarian violence that has so far claimed the lives of nearly 130 people across Iraq.

Al-Hakim, who heads the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, blamed Saddam Hussein loyalists and Al-Qaeda followers for the bombing.

A daytime curfew in Baghdad announced by Iraq's government is largely being observed with streets in the capital reportedly largely empty.

However, in Baghdad's predominantly Shi'ite neighborhood of Al-Sadr City, unidentified gunmen clashed with militiamen loyal to Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was killed.

(compiled from agency reports)

Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org