By ZIAD KHALAF, Associated Press Writer 32 minutes ago
SAMARRA, Iraq - Insurgents detonated bombs inside one of Iraq's holiest Shiite shrines Wednesday, destroying its golden dome and triggering more than 60 reprisal attacks on Sunni mosques. The president warned that extremists were pushing the country toward civil war, as many Shiites lashed out at the United States as partly to blame.
As the gold dome of the 1,200-year-old Askariya shrine lay in ruins, leaders on both sides called for calm: But the string of back-and-forth attacks seemed to push the country closer to all-out civil war than at any point in the three years since the U.S.-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein.
"We are facing a major conspiracy that is targeting Iraq's unity," said President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd. "We should all stand hand in hand to prevent the danger of a civil war."
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and the top American commander in Iraq also warned it was a "critical moment for Iraq" and called the bombings a deliberate attempt to create sectarian tension. They promised the U.S. would contribute to the shrine's reconstruction.
"This attack is a crime against humanity," Khalilzad and Gen. George W. Casey Jr., said in a joint statement.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060222/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_ylt=ApErYvQF8UV0XG6Bg84frQ.s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--------
And from Juan Cole -
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Iran Blames Bush
Sunni Shiite Clashes
Shiites came out in the thousands all over the Shiite south on Wednesday to protest the bombing of the Askariiyah shrine in Samarra. A Sunni mosque was set afire. and a Sunni clergyman was assassinated.
The hardline Shiite Mahdi Army has come out of Sadr City and is all over Baghdad. They are clashing with Sunnis in Basra.
Sunni leader Tariq al- Hashimi threatened reprisals for reprisal killings.
Abdul Aziz al-Hakim blamed the US for holding back the Badr Corps.
Grand Ayatollah Sistani called for nonviolent street protests that he must know won't be nonviolent.
Iran is blaming Bush.
http://www.juancole.com/