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Dozens of bodies found in Iraq
MORE than 50 bullet-riddled bodies were found overnight in Iraq as sectarian violence surged after the bombing of a revered Shiite shrine sparked revenge attacks against Sunni mosques.Amid warnings the sectarian bloodshed could spiral inro all out civil war, Iraqi political and religious leaders were set to meet with President Jalal Talabani. A total of 53 bodies were recovered in Baghdad and its suburbs, an interior ministry official said today. The upsurge in killings came after suspected al-Qaeda linked militants yesterday morning bombed the 1000-year-old Imam Ali al-Hadi mausoleum, one of the countries' main Shiite shrines, in the town of Samarra, north of Baghdad. Early today the police reported finding the bodies of three Iraqi journalists working for Dubai-based Arabiya satellite television who were kidnapped near Samarra last night while reporting on the shrine bombing. "The bodies of the presenter Atwar Bahjat, of cameraman Adnan Abdallah and of soundman Khaled Mohsen were found early this morning some 15km north of Samarra," police said. The bombing prompted global condemnation and appeals for calm, but large-scale demonstrations turned violent, leading to the killings of at least six Sunnis in the capital and attacks on a number of Sunni mosques nationwide. Two people were also killed in an attack on offices of a Sunni political party in Iraq's mainly Shiite city of Basra, while gunmen stormed a prison in the southern port city and lynched 10 suspected Sunni militants from Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The latest bloodshed came as Shiite and Sunni political factions bicker over the formation of a national unity government, amid anxiety that further delay in setting up a cabinet could lead the country into chaos. The bomb attack on the shrine destroyed the dome of one of the Shiite Islam's holiest shrines where Shiites believe their 12th Imam disappeared in the 9th century AD. In Baghdad, mobs killed three clerics and three worshippers in assaults on 27 Sunni mosques, an Iraqi security officer said. Gunmen opened fire on Sunni religious sanctuaries and torched at least one, the officer added. "We ask the Marjaiya (Shiite grand ayatollahs) to intervene before it is too late," Sunni-based Islamic Party's chief Tareq al-Hashimi said. Iraq's top Shiite religious authority, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, urged his community to remain calm and to refrain from seeking vengeance. But at least 2000 Shiite demonstrators took to the streets of Kut, 175km southeast of the capital, today shouting "vengeance, vengeance". Waving the green flags of Islam and the national Iraqi colours, thousands of Shiites yesterday had also taken to the streets, vowing to punish those responsible for the attack. Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari has proclaimed three days of national mourning and decreed that Thursday would be a public holiday. Mr Jaafari called on Iraqis to denounce sectarian attacks and "close the road to those who want to undermine national unity". "They are trying to push us into killing one another," the Government said in a statement. The head of one of the most powerful Shiite parties in Iraq, Abdel Aziz Hakim, attributed part of the blame for the bombing on US ambassador Zalmay Khalizad, two days after the US diplomat offered a veiled rebuke to Shiite parties. "These statements were a reason for more pressure and gave the green light to terrorist groups. Certainly he is partly responsible for what happened," Mr Hakim said. Mr Khalilzad, who has repeatedly warned against growing sectarian tension, enraged Mr Hakim on Monday with a suggestion that the United States would curtail funds if Iraq's next government were run on a sectarian basis. The supreme leader of neighbouring Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also blamed Washington. But he too called on Iraqi Shiites not to seek revenge. The Samarra bombing, carried out by men dressed in police commando uniforms, bore the hallmarks of supporters of al-Qaeda's Iraq frontman Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who has declared war on the country's Shiites. US President George W. Bush called on Iraqis to act with restraint. Posted by: tipper 2006-02-23 |
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