Iraq - Blast at revered Shi'ite shrine in Iraq's Samarra (Golden Dome Mosque)

Reuters (excerpt) ^

[HAL9000]

BAGHDAD, June 13 (Reuters) - An explosion struck a revered Shi'ite Muslim shrine in the Iraqi city of Samarra on Wednesday that was badly damaged in February 2006, senior Shi'ite officials and a witness said.

The witness said two minarets at the Golden Mosque were damaged in the blast. Last year's attack on the mosque triggered a wave of sectarian violence in Iraq that has killed tens of thousands of people.

[leadpenny]

AP update:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070613/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer
9 minutes ago

[leadpenny]

Earlier you asked about the status of the Mosque.

From the AP update:

After last year's bombing, the mosque was guarded by about 60 Federal Protection Service forces and 25 local Iraqi police who kept watch on the perimeter, according to Samarra city officials.

In the immediate aftermath of that bombing, U.S. officials and others had promised to help rebuild the landmark dome, completed in 1905, but no rebuilding has begun.

[leadhead]

This attack was probably done by al-Qaida, and it's likely to cause more trouble for our troops

I'll bet that it was Shite done as an excuse to whack more Sunnis. Probably that chubby boy diddler, Sadr.

If his Mahdi army isn't fighting something, they have no reason to live.

[Allegra]

This attack was probably done by al-Qaida, and it's likely to cause more trouble for our troops.

Correct. I was here when they bombed this mosque last year. All hell broke loose and our troops and other Americans were at increased risk. We are already on higher alert now because of this and we're hearing some explosions (not that that's all so unusual.)

So far, it doesn't seem to be too crazy in Sadr City, but it took about a day or so for that place to come unraveled last time this happened.

I suppose whether this is a good or bad thing depends on one's point of perspective.

[Allegra]

I'll bet that it was Shite done as an excuse to whack more Sunnis. Probably that chubby boy diddler, Sadr.

While I don't put anything past that blithering idiot, I strongly suspect this is al Qaeda's handiwork.

[Allegra]

If Iraqis had balls, they would stand up and hurry the political process up.

But they are arabs. Lazy people.

You'd be surprised at how far things have progressed. There is still a way to go. Rome was not built in a day and democracies do not take hold overnight. Our own didn't.

There are lazy Iraqis and there are very energetic, ambitious and industrious Iraqis. Just like in any other society.

[FostersExport]

I rather doubt it was Iran. They are Shi’ites.

[Diogenesis]

Iran attacks both sides to stoke up the war.

BOMB Iran’s mullahs.

[Red in Blue PA]

What a foolish statement. Do you think this helps our troops in any way whatsoever?

[AppyPappy]

Yeah, these sites are so revered in Islam, we have to let them snipe at us from them. But the Muslims can blow them up at will. Go figure.

[alicewonders]

But they are arabs. Lazy people.

They do seem to be, don't they? As a whole, they have not accomplished much - other than spawning hate, death & destruction. For centuries they've polluted the world with their sickness, I can't help but think about what wonderful things mankind could be doing right now if we didn't have to waste so much time protecting ourselves from them & cleaning up their messes.

[servantboy777]

Man! Why couldn’t they just tag it with graffiti.

Maybe we should send over some of our finest taggers to teach’em.

Hey, Los Angeles has a few we could spare. They don’t even need a passport........they didn’t use one to get here.

[Jazzman1]

I’d just as soon have the $$$ go to crackheads than to rebuild a mosque of the “Religion of Peace”.

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

The MSM has been slacking off on pushing the “sectarian civil war” talking point lately. Looks like Iran and their al Qaeda lapdogs are trying to remedy that.

It worked once for them already. Why not?

[Sender]

There are energetic, ambitious and industrious Iraqis, and it's a shame the centuries-old hatred between Shia and Sunna keeps getting stirred by the interlopers.

It says a lot about al Qaeda and their types when they care nothing about causing death, hatred and revenge among their own people to further their political ends.

Even Mohammed is spinning in his grave...or wherever he is currently roasting.

[Moose4]

Maybe, maybe not. If al-Qaeda did this, all it’s going to do is turn more Shi’ites against them. It may even turn more Sunnis against them, when the Shi’ites start getting their revenge and the Sunnis have to come to us for help.

AQI is their own worst enemy. They’ve proven time and again, they don’t know when to back off. They’re pushing more and more Sunni tribal chiefs into the arms of the Iraqi government and the US, and now they may be doing it with some of the Shi’ites as well.

I assume they used large car bombs to do this. You’d need a pretty big boom to knock down those minarets. Looking at the pictures of the dome from last year, if I didn’t know it was a terrorist explosion, I’d swear an F-16 put a couple of thousand-pound GBUs right on the roof.

}:-)4

[gas0linealley]

“In the immediate aftermath of that bombing, U.S. officials and others had promised to help rebuild the landmark dome, completed in 1905, but no rebuilding has begun. “

Another amendment to the Immigration Bill can fix their broken mosque.

[Moose4]

I’m not sure AQ is Iran’s lapdog. AQ are fiercely orthodox Sunnis. Iran is Shi’ite. Sunnis and Shi’ites will gladly kill each other if you let them. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” only works for so long with these nutjobs.

Iran may be supplying AQI with stuff like EFPs to take out our armored vehicles, but if AQI starts to use the stuff on Mookie “Badteeth” Sadr’s Shi’ites instead of our troops, well, then the mullahocracy will get to experience “blowback.”

}:-)4

[TSchmereL]

Oh, no! Not this Shi’ite again!