Iraq Insurgents Bomb Holy Shiite Shrine

[ECH1969]

A series of roadside bombs and explosions damaged a Shiite shrine east of the volatile city of Baqouba late Saturday, police and the Interior Ministry said.

The bombing at the Imam Abdullah Ali al-Hadi shrine, which caused no injuries, marks the second time in nearly three months that assailants have targeted a site sacred to Iraq's Shiite majority. It is likely to further heighten sectarian tensions, particularly in Baqouba, a mixed Sunni Arab-Shiite town that has recently seen an increase in violence.

The blasts occurred about 11 p.m. at the shrine, according to the Diyala provincial police Joint Coordination Center and Interior Ministry Lt. Col. Falah al-Mohammedawi.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060513/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_shrine_bombed

[cantstandbush]

1. It's a pity how utterly destroyed Iraq will be thanks to the US invasion.

this shit would never have happened under Saddam and most Iraqis know it.

[rodeodance]

3. people blown up, the enviroment destroyed. Oh, where are those roses?

[pretzel4gore]

2. probably a cia/m16 black op....

apparently, the US/Brits want a civil war in iraq, so they can get out, only leaving chaos....

[sabra]

4. this is not good... :-(

[Up2Late]

5. Another whitewash from the AP, here are a few more details from Reuters

Bombs destroy two Shi'ite shrines in Iraq

Sun May 14, 2006 01:50 AM ET

BAQUBA, Iraq (Reuters) - Bombs destroyed two small Shi'ite Muslim shrines in a rural area about 60 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, police said on Sunday, in what appeared to be the latest acts of sectarian violence in Iraq. No one was hurt in Saturday's attacks on the Abdullah bin Ali shrine in the village of Wajihiya or the Tamim shrine in the nearby countryside.

"The Abdullah bin Ali shrine is completely destroyed," said a police officer in the regional capital Baquba, declining to be named.

Residents in Wajihiya, 30 hm (20 miles) east of Baquba, voiced anger at the attacks and said the shrines were also used as places of prayer by some Sunni Muslims in the area -- a common practice in Iraq.

Several small shrines, marking tombs of respected clerics and local spiritual leaders mainly from the Shi'ite branch of Islam, were attacked after the destruction of the large Golden Mosque, or Askari shrine, in Samarra on February 22.

(more at link)

<http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=12193108&src=rss/topNews>