Suspected al-Qaeda insurgents yesterday destroyed the two minarets of the Askariya Shiite shrine in Samarra, authorities reported, in a repeat of an attack last year that shattered its famous Golden Dome and unleashed a wave of retaliatory sectarian violence that still bloodies Iraq.
Police said the attack at about 9am involved explosives and brought down the two minarets, which had flanked the dome's ruins. No casualties were reported.
The attack, blamed on Sunni Muslim extremists, immediately stirred fears of a new explosion of Sunni-Shiite bloodshed. State television said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki quickly imposed an indefinite curfew on vehicle traffic and large gatherings in Baghdad, as of 3pm yesterday.
The Iraqi leader also met with the US commander in Iraq to ask that US reinforcements be sent into Samarra to help head off new violence in the flashpoint city, al-Maliki's office said.
Al-Maliki's Dawa Party issued a statement blaming al-Qaeda for attempting to "burn Iraq with the fire of sectarian strife" and calling for an immediate investigation.
"We call upon our Iraqi people to exercise self-restraint and not be dragged into reactions like those planned by the killers," it said.
A US military official in northern Iraq confirmed that the towers were destroyed, and said Samarra remained calm as of early yesterday afternoon. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information.
The powerful blasts shook the town, sending a cloud of dust billowing into the air, said Imad Nagi, who owns a store 100m from the shrine.
"After the dust settled, I couldn't see the minarets any more. So, I closed the shop quickly and went home," he said.
It wasn't immediately clear how the attackers evaded the shrine's guard force, which had been strengthened after the bombing last year.
Also see story:
US, Iraqi forces raid candy factory used by insurgents
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique