Amber

Insurgents detonated bombs inside one of Iraq’s holiest Shiite shrines Wednesday, destroying its golden dome and triggering more than 90 reprisal attacks on Sunni mosques. The president warned that extremists were pushing the country toward civil war.

With the gleaming dome of the 1,200-year-old Askariya shrine reduced to rubble, leaders on both sides called for calm and many Shiites lashed out at the United States as partly to blame.

But the string of back-and-forth attacks seemed to push Iraq 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.”

?This is a critical moment for Iraq. Whether or not they can survive this will tell if Iraqi Democracy can surivive. This could be the make or break point.

Omar at Iraq the Model reports from the scene in Baghdad:

Right now there’s heavy deployment for the police and other security forces with more frequent checkpoints that are stop-searching cars more often than they usually do. Sporadic gunfire is heard in different spots in Baghdad but no one knows for sure if the firing meant clashes or mere angry shooting in the air.From where I’m sitting now I can hear both Sunni and Shia mosques are condemning the attack through their loudspeakers.

I believe there are foreign terror groups behind this attack and I don’t think local insurgent would do such a thing, simply because this particular shrine had been in Sunni territory for a thousand years and the residents of Samarra had always benefited from the movement of religious tourism and pilgrimage.

Things look scary here in Baghdad and I hope there won’t be more updates to report as I can’t see a positive thing coming out of this…

From Healing Iraq

Samarra Attack, the Last Straw?

The situation in Baghdad is bad, bad, bad. I had to flee work early and return home after news of large protests in Shi’ite districts, and several attacks against Sunni mosques in the Baladiyat, Sha’ab and Dora districts by angry rioters. Sunnis are being blamed for the attack against a Shia holy shrine in Samarra, a largely Sunni town.

The streets look empty now, and all stores seem to be closed. I can hear gunfire and American helicopters and jets circling the skies.

I’ll update again when I get a grip on what is going on. Things look tense enough.

UPDATE:
I was disconnected for a while so I couldn’t update any sooner.
Details on what is going on are still rather vague. I have to rely on Iraqi television and word of mouth to put this update together. But first, here is what the Iraqi Islamic party website (Arabic) is reporting:

The Al-Qudus, Al-Shaheed, and Al-Abrar mosques in Sadr city were evacuated and occupied by the Mahdi army. In the Baladiyyat and Binook districts, the Ahmed Ra?ouf, Al-Qudus, Dhiyouf Al-Rahman, Al-Fayyadh, Al-Muhannad, Al-Hassan bin Ali, and Ibad Allah Al-Muttaqeen mosques have been taken over by armed mobs from Sadr city.

Mosques in Baghdad attacked by armed rioters:

The Umm Al-Qura and Al-Hamza mosques in Ghazaliya.

Al-Khulafaa? and Al-Fardous mosques in Hayy Ur.

Al-Haqq and Al-Sada Al-Ni?am mosques in Al-Sha?ab.

Al-Hajja Fawzia, Al-Faruq, Al-Hassan, and Ibad Al-Rahman mosques in Palestine street.
Abu Ubaida and Al-Nida? mosques in Qahira.

Al-Rahma and Al-Battawi mosques in Shu?la.

Malik bin Anas, Al-Samarrai, and Uthman bin Affan mosques in Baghdad Al-Jedida.

Al-Mustafa, Ubaid Al-Kubaisi, Taha Al-Samarrai and Al-Bustani mosques in Saidiya.

Badriya and Mus?ab bin Umair mosques in Talibiya.

Al-Hamza mosque in Turath.

Al-Rahma mosque in Al-Utaifiya.

Al-Ani mosque in Waziriya.

Hayy Al-Umal mosque in Baladiyyat.

Al-Yassin and Al-Shuhadaa? mosques in Dora.

Fendi Al-Kubaisi mosque in Al-Shurta.

The Al-Ashra Al-Mubashareen mosque in Basrah was attacked, and unconfirmed news that the shrine of Talha bin Ubaid Allah (a companion of Muhammed), south of Basrah has been set to fire by armed demonstrators.

The Islamic party?s Basrah branch at Al-Jaza?er district was also set to fire, following armed clashes between guards and Shi?ite demonstrators. Several members are reportedly still trapped inside, with Sunni parliament member Khalaf Al-Sheikh Eissa among them.

The Al-Fayhaa, Al-Salam mosques, and stores belonging to the Sunni Endowment Board have also been set to fire. A curfew has been imposed until morning.

Sunni mosques in Diwaniya, as well as the Grand mosque and Hutteen mosque have been evacuated, and occupants arrested during noon prayers.

Several mosques at Nasiriya and Suq Al-Shiyoukh have been threatened. The Islamic party office was set to fire.

The Al-Nijoom vermicelli factory at Baghdad Al-Jedida (owned by Hajj Nassar, a Sunni merchant) has been burned to the ground, and the Al-Safa, Al-Mustafa and Al-Isra mosques have been taken over.

The Rusafa and Za?faraniya Islamic party offices have been attacked.

The Mahdi milita stormed into the Qabaa? mosque in Sha?ab district and renamed it to Al-Hadi mosque.

Al-Aqtab Al-Arba?a mosque near the Baghdad airport road was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades.

Interior ministry forces take over the Salman Al-Farisi shrine in Salman Pak (Madain) south of Baghdad.

Armed attack against the Sunni Endowments office in Saba? Abkar, and American troops arrive at the location.

Al-Rahman and Yassin mosques at Abu Dshir attacked.

The Islamic party website says Shi?ite mourning chants and prayers are being broadcast now from the abovementioned Sunni mosques.

Clashes are being reported in Sulaikh, Ghazaliya, Al-Amil, Sha?ab and Dora districts of Baghdad.

And right now, they sound like they are near my doorstep. The Interior ministry forces and Mahdi militiamen are having a field day. Relatives from Palestine street and Baghdad Al-Jedida have called to report raid campaigns against Sunni neighbourhoods.

Is this the final straw? Or will it pass after a random spree of violence? No one can really tell at the moment.

UPDATE 2: It’s almost 3 am and I can still hear gunfire in the neighbourhood. Word of the street in our area is that Sunni neighbourhood watch teams are patrolling several Sunni districts in Baghdad, such as Adhamiya, Ghazaliya, Khadhraa, Adil, Dora, Amiriya, Bayaa, Mansour and Al-Jihad. They say if any Interior ministry forces (read Badr brigade) enter the area, local mosques will shout three Allahu Akbar’s through loudspeakers as a sign for residents to defend themselves.

Sistani called for calm, yet he urged his followers to continue with ‘non-violent’ demonstrations, like this one for instance: