2006 al-Askari mosque bombing

Attack on a Shia mosque in Iraq the 2006 bombing the 2007 bombing 2007 al-Askari mosque bombing April 2021 April 2021 2006 al-Askari Shrine bombing the Iraqi Civil War Al_Askari_Mosque.jpg 250px Photograph of al-Askari Shrine before the 2006 bombing Iraq 34.1990 43.8736 Samarra none center Samarra, Saladin Governorate, Iraq Al-Askari Shrine 2006 02 22 yes Location in Iraq ar 34.1990 43.8736 scale:30000_region:IQ inline,title 6:44 a.m. UTC+03:00 Bombing 0 0 Unknown On 22 February 2006, approximately 6:44 a.m. Arabia Standard Time, al-Askari Shrine in Samarra, Iraq, was severely damaged in a bombing attack amidst the then-ongoing Iraq War. Constructed in the 10th century, it is one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam. Despite the magnitude of the explosions, there were no casualties. American president George W. Bush asserted that the bombing had been carried out by al-Qaeda in Iraq, which denied involvement in the attack. Although responsibility for the 2006 al-Askari bombing was not claimed by any party, the incident was followed by bouts of retaliatory violence among Iraqis, with over 100 dead bodies being found the next dayMuslim Clerics Call for an End to Iraqi Rioting The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/25/international/middleeast/25iraq.html February 24, 2006 Robert F. Worth February 25, 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20090424230551/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/25/international/middleeast/25iraq.html April 24, 2009 live and well over 1,000 deaths occurring over the course of a few days after the attack; some counts place the death toll at over 1,000 on the first day alone.Blood on Our Hands: What WikiLeaks Revealed about the Iraqi Death Toll – By Ellen Knickmeyer Foreign Policy https://web.archive.org/web/20110101174010/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/10/25/Blood_on_Our_Hands?page=full 1 January 2011 Sectarian violence between Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims had already been prevalent since the beginning of the Iraqi insurgency in 2003, but the attack on al-Askari Shrine triggered the Iraqi civil war, which was marked by an intensive series of attacks against Iraqi civilians on the basis of their religious affiliation until 2008. Just over a year later, the 2007 al-Askari mosque bombing resulted in damage to the structure, but no casualties. Similarly, no party claimed responsibility for the 2007 attack, but Iran asserted that it had been carried out by the banned Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. A fresh wave of sectarian violence between Shias and Sunnis took place in the aftermath of the second bombing. Attack and response 250px|thumb|Photograph of Al-Askari Shrine after the first bombing in February 2006. At 6:44 a.m. (0344 UTC) on 22 February 2006, explosions occurred at al-Askari Mosque, effectively destroying its golden dome and severely damaging the mosque. Several men wearing military uniforms, had earlier entered the mosque, tied up the guards there and set explosives, resulting in the blast. Two bombs were set offExplosion destroys Shiite shrine golden dome Ireland On-Line http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=173575042&p=y73575748 February 23, 2006 https://archive.today/20120710025024/http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=173575042&p=y73575748 July 10, 2012 dead mdy-all Bombers strike Shia mausoleum in Iraq IBN Live http://www.ibnlive.com/article.php?id=5757&section_id=2 February 23, 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20070930182850/http://www.ibnlive.com/article.php?id=5757&section_id=2 September 30, 2007 live by fiveKnickmeyer, Ellen Bombing Shatters Mosque In Iraq The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/22/AR2006022200454.html February 23, 2006 February 23, 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20110214033507/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/22/AR2006022200454.html February 14, 2011 live mdy to sevenBlast destroys golden dome of Iraq's shrine Hindustan Times India http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1632721,00050004.htm February 23, 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20070927195052/http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1632721,00050004.htm September 27, 2007 dead mdy men dressed as personnel of the Iraqi special forcesKnight, Sam Bombing of Shia shrine sparks wave of retaliation The Times London http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7374-2052701,00.html February 23, 2006 February 22, 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20080210210138/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7374-2052701,00.html February 10, 2008 dead mdy who entered the shrine during the morning.Iraqi shrine bombing spurs wave of sectarian reprisals CBC News https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/iraqi-shrine-bombing-spurs-wave-of-sectarian-reprisals-1.575444 February 23, 2006 February 22, 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20070514005637/http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/02/22/iraq-shrine-blast.html May 14, 2007 live mdy No injuries were reported following the bombing. However, the northern wall of the shrine was damaged by the bombs, causing the dome to collapse and destroying three-quarters of the structure along with it.Worth, Robert Blast Destroys Shrine in Iraq, Setting Off Sectarian Fury The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/22/international/middleeast/22cnd-iraq.html?hp&ex=1140670800&en=1077baccd068bf6b&ei=5094&partner=homepage February 23, 2006 February 22, 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20090424230544/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/22/international/middleeast/22cnd-iraq.html?hp&ex=1140670800&en=1077baccd068bf6b&ei=5094&partner=homepage April 24, 2009 live Following the blast, American and Iraqi forces surrounded the shrine and began searching houses in the area. Five police officers responsible for protecting the mosque were taken into custody.Famous Iraq mosque damaged in blast The Scotsman UK http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=274442006 February 23, 2006 October 2010 H3llBot The dome had been repaired by April 2009 and the shrine reopened to visitors.2009-04-17 Bombed Iraq shrine reopens to visitors https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/192492/Bombed-Iraq-shrine-reopens-to-visitors 2023-05-11 Tehran Times en 16 November 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20181116102227/https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/192492/Bombed-Iraq-shrine-reopens-to-visitors live Accusations No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack on the mosque. Al-Qaeda in Iraq Although al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) denied any involvement in statements released, in June 2006, it was reported that Iraqi commandos and troops had captured and seriously wounded Tunisian militant Yousri Fakher Mohammed Ali, who was also known as Abu Qudama al-Tunesi, after he and 15 other foreign fighters stormed an Iraqi checkpoint 25 miles north of Baghdad, according to Iraqi National Security Adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie. Abu Qudama confessed to taking part in the attack on al-Askari mosque in Samarra and gave a detailed account of how the attack took place. Al-Rubaie said Iraqi security forces had yet to capture the mastermind of the mosque attack, Haitham al-Badri, an Iraqi and leader of one of AQI's cells who was later killed in an airstrike on 2 August 2007. Al-Rubaie said al-Badri, Abu Qudama, four Saudi nationals, and two other Iraqis stormed the mosque on 21 February 2006, rounded up the shrine's guards, members of Iraq's Facility Protection Service, and bound their hands. The group then spent the rest of the night rigging the mosque with bombs. At dawn on the next day, they detonated the explosives, bringing down the dome.http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/world/14924090.htm Suspect in bombing of Shiite shrine is captured Alex Rodriguez Chicago Tribune June 28, 2006 3 September 2006 February 2011 In an August 2006 press conference, American president George W. Bush stated: "it's pretty clear – at least the evidence indicates – that the bombing of the shrine was an al-Qaeda plot, all intending to create sectarian violence."https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/21/AR2006082100469.html?nav=rss_politics President Bush Holds a News Conference: CQ Transcripts Wire August 21, 2006 The Washington Post April 22, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20121020213009/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/21/AR2006082100469.html?nav=rss_politics October 20, 2012 live mdy In May 2007, Iraqi officials blamed al-Qaeda for the attack.Al Qaeda leader in Iraq 'killed by insurgents' http://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-05-01/al-qaeda-leader-in-iraq-killed-by-insurgents/2537000 ABC News 1 May 2007 5 December 2014 15 September 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180915152428/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-05-01/al-qaeda-leader-in-iraq-killed-by-insurgents/2537000 live A 2004 letter attributed by the Americans to Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi accused him of attempting to incite a "civil war" between Iraq's Shias and Sunnis. The American military claimed that the letter was purportedly captured from an alleged "Al-Qaeda courier" in January 2004.http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/02/10/sprj.nirq.zarqawi/ Letter may detail Iraqi insurgency's concerns CNN February 10, 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20080517102054/http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/02/10/sprj.nirq.zarqawi/ May 17, 2008 live In September 2006, Iraqi officials announced the capture of Iraqi militant Hamid Juma Faris Jouri al-Saeedi in connection with the bombing, allegedly done on his orders by Haitham al-Badri.Oppel, Richard A. Jr. (September 3, 2006). Senior Al Qaeda Figure in Iraq Is Captured. The New York Times Al-Badri was killed in August 2007.Home https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en.html 2023-05-11 www.thomsonreuters.com en 2 April 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200402124725/https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en.html live United States and Israel Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blamed the United States and Israel for the attack. He claimed that "these heinous acts are committed by a group of Zionists and occupiers that have failed." He warned, amid a crowd of protesters, that the United States would "not be saved from the wrath and power of the justice-seeking nations" by resorting to bombings like the one that occurred at Al-Askari Mosque.February 23, 2006 Iran president warns West over Iraq shrine blast Reuters http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L23295106.htm https://archive.today/20201119182310/https://www.webcitation.org/5wfdPn2sY?url=http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L23295106.htm November 19, 2020 live mdy According to Alertnet, the late Lebanese politician Hassan Nasrallah, who had led Hezbollah since 1992, echoed the opinions of Ahmadinejad in a speech from the Lebanese capital city Beirut, where he accused the United States of attacking Al-Askari Shrine to cause tension between Sunnis and Shias in Iraq and across the Middle East.http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L23295106.htm https://archive.today/20201119182310/https://www.webcitation.org/5wfdPn2sY?url=http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L23295106.htm dead 19 November 2020 Thomson Reuters Foundation News, Information and Connections for Action Alertnet.org 2013-12-31 Post-bombing anti-Sunni violence As a result of the bombing, there was widespread violence throughout Iraq. According to the Sunni Clerical Association of Muslim Scholars, 168 mosques were attacked in the two days following the bombing, while ten imams were murdered and fifteen others kidnapped.February 24, 2006 http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=136363&Sn=WORL&IssueID=28341 Killing Fields Gulf Daily News https://web.archive.org/web/20071127035559/http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=136363&Sn=WORL&IssueID=28341 November 27, 2007 live The Shi'ite controlled Interior Ministry said it could only confirm figures for Baghdad, where it had reports of 19 mosques attacked, one cleric killed and one abducted. The normal daily patrols of US coalition forces and Iraqi security forces were temporarily suspended in Baghdad during the few days following the bombing. February 22 In Najaf, shops were closed, while residents gathered at the city's 1920 Revolution Square for demonstrations. In Al Diwaniyah, all mosques, shops and markets were closed.Title Canada.com http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.htm February 23, 2006June 2016 medicmedic Three Sunni Muslim clerics were shot dead by Shi'a militiamen.al-Amery, Amer 2006 Iraq shrine bomb fuels Shi'ite terrorism Reuters http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-02-22T194909Z_01_MAC231520_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ.xml February 23, 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20110522012713/http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-02-22T194909Z_01_MAC231520_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ.xml May 22, 2011 dead A civilian, Hameed Rasheed, was shot dead by random shooting in Baghdad Attacks on Sunni mosques especially in eastern Baghdad started right away after the news of the bombing spread on the afternoon. Groups of armed men in civil vehicles seen in the streets. February 23 Up to 21 Sunni mosques were attacked in reprisals for the bombing. The attacks included shootings and acts of arson. Three mosques were completely destroyed by explosives. In the mainly Shia city of Basra, armed men in police uniforms seized eleven Sunni Muslim men, including some Saudi, Turkish and Egyptian nationals, from the Mina prison. The seized men were later found dead and were believed to have been tortured. Ninety reprisal attacks on mosques were reported.Dozens killed in Iraq sectarian violence Al Jazeera http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6B989359-6D61-4A50-B4C8-ECCFFA49B0E6.htm February 23, 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20061007105241/http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6B989359-6D61-4A50-B4C8-ECCFFA49B0E6.htm October 7, 2006 dead mdy Iraq's Kurdish Sunni President Jalal Talabani warned that Iraq was on the brink of civil war. Shia militiamen killed 47 Sunni civilians and left their bodies in a ditch near Baghdad on February 23. All of the bodies had their hands bound together.http://www.chinapost.com.tw/i_latestdetail.asp?id=35742 China Post Taiwan (ROC) February 24, 2006 Iraqi Sunni bloc suspends political talks https://web.archive.org/web/20110515010959/http://www.chinapost.com.tw/i_latestdetail.asp?id=35742 May 15, 2011 dead mdy Three journalists, including Atwar Bahjat, working for Al-Arabiya television were kidnapped and killed by Sunni insurgents while covering the bombing. Their bodies were found on the outskirts of Samarra.http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/23/journalists.killed/index.html Arab TV journalists killed in Iraq February 23, 2006 CNN https://web.archive.org/web/20080724052458/http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/23/journalists.killed/index.html July 24, 2008 dead The journalist and her crew were Sunni Muslims. February 24 Baghdad was relatively calmBreaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera https://www.aljazeera.com/ 2023-05-11 www.aljazeera.com en 18 June 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20070618183239/http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8A2BB5AC-A330-4AF3-8ABA-7177872EC80F.htm live on February 24, despite reports of minor clashes between members of a Shia militia and Sunni insurgents in the south of the city. In Basra, where the curfew was not in effect, on Friday Sunni insurgents kidnapped three children of a Shia legislator and prominent member of the Shi'a Islamic Da'awa Party. In the city of Madain (Ctesiphon), Sunni insurgents fired two rockets at the tomb of Salman the Persian, causing damage but no casualties.http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/13955702.htm Violence continues in Iraq despite curfew in central provinces February 24, 2006 Knight Ridder Newspapers https://web.archive.org/web/20160303171640/http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/13955702.htm March 3, 2016 deadhttps://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2006-02-24-tomb-attack_x.htm Holy Shiite tomb attacked with rockets February 24, 2006 USA Today https://web.archive.org/web/20110522112729/http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2006-02-24-tomb-attack_x.htm May 22, 2011 live mdy February 25 Fierce sectarian violence erupted on February 25Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera https://www.aljazeera.com/ 2023-05-11 www.aljazeera.com en 18 June 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20070618183239/http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8A2BB5AC-A330-4AF3-8ABA-7177872EC80F.htm live despite an extraordinary daytime curfew, killing more than 24 people in a series of incidents around the country, including a brazen attack by Sunni insurgents on the funeral procession of an Iraqi television journalist Atwar Bahjat. The violence took place even though a daytime curfew emptied the streets of Baghdad and three neighboring governorates for a second day. The government extended the daylight security clampdown with a ban on cars on February 27. According to KarbalaNews.net and Juan Cole, Sunni insurgents blew up a Shiite shrine in Bashir, south of Tuz Khurmato.Cole Juan http://www.juancole.com/2006/02/more-shrines-destroyed-60-killed.html More Shrines Destroyed 60 Killed Informed Comment Juancole.com 2006-02-26 2013-12-31 7 March 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20060307103831/http://www.juancole.com/2006/02/more-shrines-destroyed-60-killed.html live 20 insurgents attacked the shrine of Salman the Persian. They killed the guards and placed explosives at the tomb, then blew it up, damaging the shrine. February 26 Five days of violenceMichael Howard in Irbil https://www.theguardian.com/Iraq/Story/0,,1718646,00.html Sunni-Shia schism 'threatening to tear Iraq apart' The Guardian 2006-02-27 2013-12-31 London left more than 200 people dead and many Sunni mosques smashed, despite daytime curfews on Baghdad and surrounding provinces. There were further ominous signs of the "ethnic cleansing" of once mixed neighbourhoods in and around Baghdad. Scores of Shi'a families were reported to have fled homes in the restive western Sunni suburb of Abu Ghraib. Shi'a community leaders said they were being housed temporarily in schools and other buildings in Shia areas. In the latest round of attacks, a bomb destroyed a minibus as it was leaving a bus station in the Shi'a town of Hilla, 60 miles south of Baghdad, killing five people and wounding three. Reactions Political Iraq Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari has urged Iraqis to stay unified and peaceful, saying the attack was an effort to incite violence.Gunmen strike 27 Baghdad mosques, kill imams CNN http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/22/iraq.main/index.html February 23, 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20060228235313/http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/22/iraq.main/index.html February 28, 2006 He has also called for three days of national mourning.Samarra Mosque, Iraq Shiite Shrine, Damaged in Attack Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000085&sid=ajvT4mo_6sK4&refer=europe February 23, 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20070927184911/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000085&sid=ajvT4mo_6sK4&refer=europe September 27, 2007 live However, talks between him and a prominent Sunni Muslim group are put on hold as the Sunni Iraqi Accord Front quits discussions on forming a new government due to the recent violence.Yanbu to Establish New SR1 Billion Steel Plant https://web.archive.org/web/20120716193148/http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=78288&d=24&m=2&y=2006 16 July 2012 At the same time, a government organization called the Sunni Endowments that maintains Sunni mosques and shrines condemned the attack. On February 25, al-Jaafari blamedhttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2058790,00.html The Times UK News, World News and Opinion Timesonline.co.uk 2013-11-03 2013-12-31 London Rachel Sylvester Sam Coates 11 January 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080111191523/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2058790,00.html dead terrorists for the crisis: "The Iraqi people have one enemy; it is terrorism and only terrorism. ... There are no Sunnis against Shiites or Shiites against Sunnis." Despite the Sunni boycott, President Jalal Talabani pressed ahead with a meetingArab News https://www.arabnews.com/ 2023-05-11 Arab News en 6 January 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160106083946/http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=117501&d=24&m=12&y=2008 live that he had called to avert a descent toward a civil war. After discussions with Shiites, Kurds and leaders of a smaller Sunni group, he warned about the danger of all-out war. The government is extending a curfewhttps://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4749308.stm Middle East Tense Iraq extends daytime curfew BBC News 2006-02-25 2013-12-31 3 March 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20060303065714/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4749308.stm live it imposed in parts of the country on Friday to calm tensions sparked by an attack on a Shia shrine. Iraqi defence minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi warned about the danger of a long civil war. Also, he said that Iraq would not hesitate to dispatch tanks to the streets to end violence and impose security. The minister also denied any involvement by what he called Interior Ministry commandos in the attack that targeted Harith Sulayman al-Dari, leader of the Association of Muslim Scholars. Sunni and Shiite clerics in Iraq have agreed to prohibit killings https://web.archive.org/web/20060225004841/http://www.dw-world.de/dw/function/0%2C2145%2C12215_pg_0%2C00.html February 25, 2006 and to ban attacks on each other's mosques in an effort to ease sectarian violence. United States U.S. President George W. Bush warned about the threat of civil warhttp://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=78288&d=24&m=2&y=2006 Home Arab News – Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more Arabnews.com 2013-12-31 16 July 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120716193148/http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=78288&d=24&m=2&y=2006 live and expressed support for the Iraqi government. On February 25, Bush called seven Iraqi political leaders in an extraordinary round of telephone diplomacy aimed at getting talks restarted about forming a permanent government. On February 28, Bush decried the latest surge in sectarian violence https://web.archive.org/web/20060509053637/http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/02/28/ap2559659.html May 9, 2006 and said that for Iraqis "the choice is chaos or unity". In congressional testimony, National Intelligence Director John Negroponte said a civil war in Iraq could lead to a broader conflict in the Middle East, pitting the region's Sunni and Shiite powers against one another. Zalmay Khalilzad, Washington's ambassador to Iraq, and the top US commander in the country, Gen. George Casey, issued a joint statement saying the US would contribute to the shrine's reconstruction.February 22, 2006 Iraq shrine blast sparks protests https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4740010.stm live https://web.archive.org/web/20100805051131/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4740010.stm August 5, 2010 February 23, 2006 BBC News mdy United Kingdom UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw called the bombing a "criminal and sacrilegious act", urging Iraqis to show restraint and avoid retaliation. Religious Iraq Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani sent instructions to his followers forbidding attacks on Sunni mosques, especially the major ones in Baghdad, and calling for seven days of mourning.https://www.theguardian.com/Iraq/Story/0,,1715211,00.html February 23, 2006 Shia shrine blasts spark reprisal attacks The Guardian London Mark Oliver April 22, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20071105212828/http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1715211,00.html November 5, 2007 live mdy He hinted that religious militias could be given a bigger security role if the government was incapable of protecting holy shrines. On February 25Jamaica Gleaner News – Sunni and Shi'ite clerics reach deal to ease tension – Sunday February 26, 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20110713074702/http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20060226/int/int2.html 13 July 2011 Sistani called for Iraq's powerful tribes to be deployed to protect the country's holy places after three attacks on Shia shrines in four days: "Ayatollah Sistani, who received a tribal delegation from Kufa, asked that the Iraqi tribes reclaim their role of protecting the shrines," said an official in Sistani's office in the Shia clerical center of Najaf. ... After the crimes against the places of worship, including the blowing up of the mausoleum in Samarra and the attacks against the tombs of Salman the Persian and Imam Ali bin Mussa al-Rida, the tribes must take a stand and claim a role in the protection of these sites." Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr condemned the attack and called for calm.Reuters http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/B721965.htm FACTBOX - Reaction to bombing of Samarra mosque Alertnet.org 23 February 2006 2013-12-31 24 February 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20060224155608/http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/B721965.htm live Having called to stop mutual attacks, Sadr ordered members of his militiaBreaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera https://www.aljazeera.com/ 2023-05-11 www.aljazeera.com en 18 June 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20070618183239/http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8A2BB5AC-A330-4AF3-8ABA-7177872EC80F.htm live to protect Sunni mosques in majority Shia areas in southern Iraq. Sadr called for Iraqi unity and warned against "a plan by the occupation to spark a sectarian war". He called on Sunni groups such as the Association of Muslim Scholars to form a joint panel and ordered his militia to defend Shiite holy sites across Iraq. On February 25 Sunni and Shiite clerics agreed to prohibit killing members of the two sects and banning attacks on each other's mosques in an effort to ease tension between Iraq's Muslim communities following sectarian violence after the bombing of a Shi'ite shrine. The agreement was made during a meeting between representatives of Sadr and Shiite cleric Jawad al-Khalisi and members of the influential Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars at the Abu Hanifa Mosque, a Sunni place of worship. According to Juan Cole,Taylor Charles 2001-06-01 "What's the Worst That Could Happen?" https://www.salon.com/2001/06/01/worst/ 2023-05-11 Salon en 11 February 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230211222820/https://www.salon.com/2001/06/01/worst/ live three Iraqi clerics all employed their influence and authority among the Shiite rank and file to make the Samarra bombing work for them politically. Sistani expanded his militia and stayed at the forefront of the movement by encouraging peaceful rallies. Abdul Aziz al-Hakim used the explosion in Samarra to bolster his own authority. He remonstrated with the American ambassador, saying it was not reasonable to expect the religious Shiites, who won the largest bloc of seats in parliament, to give up their claim on the ministry of interior, and that, indeed, Khalilzad had helped provoke the troubles with his assertions to that effect earlier. Muqtada al-Sadr used the incident to push for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, something he has wanted since the fall of Saddam. Iran Grand Ayatollah and Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei, urged Shi'ites not to take revenge on Sunni Muslims for the attack on the Samarra shrine and deflected blame to the United States and Israel. India Syed Ali Nasir Saeed Abaqati, a leading Shia cleric from Lucknow, India, held al-Qaeda responsible for the destruction of the Al-Askari Mosque in Samarra, Iraq.Sadiq Jawad Blame US; Abaqati puts it on Qaeda The Hindustan Times 15 June 2007 http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1289445231.html https://web.archive.org/web/20121105094442/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1289445231.html November 5, 2012 HighBeam Research subscription New Delhi, India usurped Analysis Academia "I think this is probably the most dangerous event that has occurred since the fall of Saddam Hussein," former CIA Middle East specialist Reuel Marc Gerecht told CNN. "It risks our entire enterprise in Iraq." "We may be on the verge of taking communal violence to the next level," warned Juan Cole, professor of Middle-Eastern history at the University of Michigan, who called Wednesday "an apocalyptic day in Iraq". "It's very clear that the Shiites are interpreting this chain of events as evidence that the Americans are weak and can't protect Shiite interests," said Cole. "And now Americans are having to come back to the Shiites and ask them to be magnanimous and give away a lot of what they've won in elections." "It was always going to be a very hard sell, but now it's an impossible argument; Shiites aren't going to give away any power at all at this point," he said, adding that "it's possible that there could be a hung parliament, the government would collapse, and you'd have to go to new elections. And that would be a disaster in the present circumstances." William F. Buckley, Jr. considered the bombingWilliam F. Buckley Jr. on Iraq on National Review Online https://web.archive.org/web/20090912060759/http://www.nationalreview.com/buckley/buckley200602241451.asp 12 September 2009 as an indication of a general failure of the US policy in Iraq. 2010 Iraq War documents leak The October 2010 Iraq War documents leak shed new light on the events of February–March 2006. In particular, the logs reveal that U.S. soldiers immediately reported an "explosion of retaliatory killings, kidnappings, tortures, mosque attacks, and open street fighting", even as U.S. commanders including Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld were downplaying media reports of a surge in killings. The previous "official" death toll for post-bombing sectarian fighting, of 3–400, was based on information from the Shiite-led government and the Sadr-run Health Ministry, which was directly involved in atrocities according to the logs. According to The Washington Post reporter Ellen Knickmeyer, her contemporary report of 1,300+ casualties, dismissed at the time as an outlier, was in fact an undercount; the actual deaths, she says, exceeded 3,000.The Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/ 2023-05-11 The Daily Beast en 1 September 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110901010340/http://www.thedailybeast.com/ live References External links In pictures: Iraq shrine bombing Iraq Islam Category:Al-Qaeda activities in Iraq Category:2006 building bombings Category:Shia–Sunni sectarian violence Category:Islamic terrorist incidents in 2006 Al-Askari Mosque bombing Category:Battles and conflicts without fatalities Category:Samarra in the Iraq War Category:Attacks on Shiite mosques in the Iraq War Category:February 2006 in Iraq Category:Mosque bombings in Iraq Category:Burned buildings and structures in Iraq Category:Causes of wars Category:Bombings in the Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011) Category:Unsolved crimes in Iraq Category:Controversies in Iraq Category:Attacks on mosques in the 2000s Category:Shia Islam in Iraq Category:February 2006 Category:Shia mosques Category:2006 explosions Category:Building bombings in Iraq Category:Attacks on religious buildings and structures in Iraq Category:Terrorist incidents by unknown perpetrators