Sunni Mosques Attacked in Iraq Following Samarra Shrine Blasts
14 June 2007
Iraqi authorities say two more Sunni mosques were attacked Thursday after suspected al-Qaida militants bombed a revered Shi'ite Muslim shrine in Samarra Wednesday.
They say the latest Sunni mosques to be bombed were located south of Baghdad. At least four other Sunni mosques have been attacked since bomb blasts Wednesday toppled two minarets of Samarra's Askariya Mosque.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki increased security at religious sites across the country after the attack in Samarra. Mr. Maliki said Iraqi forces responsible for protecting the shrine have been detained for questioning.
Iraqi officials have imposed a curfew in Baghdad and Samarra. Despite the curfew, hundreds of Iraqis took to the streets of Baghdad's Shi'ite neighborhood of Sadr City to protest the Samarra attack.
Demonstrations were also held in Najaf and Basra.
Radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for three days of mourning, and his Mahdi militia urged restraint. Sunni religious and political leaders also appealed for calm.
An attack last year destroyed the famed golden dome of the Askariya Mosque and fueled Iraq's descent into sectarian bloodshed.
President Bush condemned Wednesday's attack on the mosque, saying it was aimed at inflaming sectarian tension in Iraq.
In other developments, the U.S. military says troops detained 25 suspected terrorists in raids since Wednesday. It says some of the detainees are believed to be closely tied to an al-Qaida in Iraq leader.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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