Iraq shrine bomb fuels Shi’ite fury

By Amer al-Amery

SAMARRA, Iraq (Reuters) – A dawn bomb attack devastated a
major Shi’ite shrine in Iraq on Wednesday, sparking sectarian
reprisals and an urgent appeal from the president not to let
the country slide into civil war.

The apparently bloodless attack on the Golden Mosque in
Samarra, one of Shi’ite Islam’s holiest sites, provoked more
violence than Sunni rebel attacks that have killed thousands
and the Shi’ite-led government and religious leaders urged
calm.

Three Sunni clerics were among six people killed, police
said, at 27 Sunni mosques in Baghdad attacked by militants.
Much damage was minor but at least two mosques were burned out.
There were sectarian clashes in other cities and in Baghdad
fearful residents rushed home before dark, some stocking up on
food.

President Jalal Talabani, an ethnic Kurd, accused the
attackers of trying to derail negotiations on a national unity
coalition: “We must … work together against … the danger of
civil war,” he said in a televised address to the nation.

The United States, anxious to calm passions and bring its
troops home, has pressured Shi’ite leaders to bring Sunnis into
government after the rebellious minority took part in an
election in December; a top Shi’ite politician accused the U.S.
envoy of encouraging the bombers by supporting Sunni demands.

Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, calling on Iraqis to “unite
against terror,” said Washington would help repair the shrine
in the mainly Sunni city north of Baghdad and accused al Qaeda
of a “deliberate attempt to foment sectarian strife.”

AYATOLLAH’S CALL

The Shi’ites’ reclusive and aging senior cleric, Grand
Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani made a rare, if silent, television
appearance that underlined the gravity of the crisis. He called
in a statement for protests but restraint as protesters outside
his office in Najaf chanted: “Rise up Shi’ites! Take revenge!”

Since U.S. forces toppled Saddam Hussein’s Sunni-dominated
government in 2003, Sistani has helped hold in check anger many
Shi’ites feel against al Qaeda and other Sunni militants as the
Shi’ite majority tastes power after years of oppression.

Shi’ite violence Sunnis has been relatively limited, though
Sunnis accuse the police of running death squads against them.

Armed Mehdi Army militiamen loyal to radical Shi’ite cleric
Moqtada al-Sadr took up positions on streets in Baghdad and
Shi’ite cities in the south, clashing in Basra and elsewhere
with Sunnis. A Sadr aide said: “If the Iraqi government does
not do its job to defend the Iraqi people we are ready to do
so.”

Talks on the government composition have exposed divisions
among Shi’ite leaders, with Sadr gaining influence, and mixed
responses to the crisis may reflect jockeying for power.

The leading Sunni religious body condemned the attack.

After gunmen attacked offices of his party in Baghdad and
Basra, Sunni political leader Tareq al-Hashimi of the Iraqi
Islamic Party said: “We will pursue anyone who attacks Sunnis.”

The Islamic Party also demanded a curfew to protect Sunni
areas; Iraqi troops patrolled Sunni districts of Baghdad and
the U.S. military said Iraqi forces had increased their
presence. U.S. forces were on hand but had not taken special
actions.

Shi’ite gunmen took over several mosques in the capital,
burning down two, and at others hanging out black Shi’ite
flags.

POLICE UNIFORMS

The national security adviser said 10 people wearing the
uniforms of police commandos had been arrested in Samarra;
police said such a group had overpowered mosque guards and laid
charges that brought down the 20-meter wide, 100-year-old
gilded dome, shattered mosaics and scattered debris widely.

“For the Shi’ites … this is a major assault comparable to
an attack on Mecca for all Muslims,” said Hazim al-Naimi, a
political scientist at Baghdad’s Mustansiriya University.

“It could push the country closer to civil war.”

Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a Shi’ite Islamist,
declared three days of mourning and called for Muslim unity.

Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, his ally and leader of the powerful
SCIRI Islamist party, accused U.S. ambassador Khalilzad of
encouraging Sunni insurgents with comments on Monday insisting
that the new cabinet must include Sunnis and other minorities.

His comments highlighted growing friction between
Washington and Shi’ite leaders who privately accuse Americans
of promoting Sunni interests to limit the influence U.S. rival
Iran.

Reflecting the broader regional interests involved, Iran’s
Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urged fellow Shi’ites
to show restraint and blamed the attack on U.S. and Israeli
agents.

The shrine is one of Iraq’s four holiest Shi’ite sites, an
important place of pilgrimage where two 9th-century imams, Ali
al-Hadi and his son Hassan al-Askari, are buried.

Ordinary Shi’ites were dismayed by the attack. “Whoever did
this are not human beings. They are less than animals,” said
Wuroud Kathim, 29, a Baghdad computer specialist.

Wednesday’s attack followed bombings in Baghdad on the two
previous days that killed 40 people and broke a month’s lull.