IRAQ - Iraq fury sparks wave of killings (conflict increasing)

[Guest guest]

Thursday, 23 February

2006, 08:11 GMT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iraq

fury sparks wave of killings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iraq has seen

angry demonstrations after the shrine attack

 

 

 

Police in Baghdad have

recovered the bullet-ridden bodies of 50 people as tensions run high

following the bombing of a Shia shrine in Samarra.

A curfew has been called in the Iraqi capital and dozens of Sunni mosques have been attacked across the

county.

Three Iraqi journalists working for al-Arabiya TV have been

killed near Samarra where they had gone to report on the

attack on the shrine.

Iraq's leaders are warning

publicly about the dangers of a civil war.

Police said the three journalists

were kidnapped and killed after they went to report on Wednesday's attack, which

destroyed the golden dome of the al-Askari shrine.

Iraq has seen a wave of violence following

the attack on the shrine, which is one of Shia Islam's holiest

sites.

" We are facing a major conspiracy that is targeting Iraq's unity, "

President Jalal Talabani said.

" We should all stand hand in hand to prevent the danger of

a civil war. "

Gunmen

The journalists for the Dubai-based al-Arabiya TV station had

gone to Samarra to report on the bombing and the angry

protests that followed.

Their bodies were found early on Thursday about 15km (10 miles)

north of the city, police said.

The deaths come amid a wave of anger over the bombing.

Gunmen opened fire on a Sunni mosque in the town of Baquba on Thursday,

killing one person and wounding two, police said.

Dozens of Sunni mosques have been attacked and at least 11

people were killed on after gunmen masquerading as police abducted them from

a Basra jail on Wednesday.

Police say the victims in the mainly Shia city were suspected

Sunni militants, including several foreigners.

Their bodies were later found in the city, amid reports that

they had been tortured before being shot.

The killings followed clashes between followers of firebrand

Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and Sunnis.

Iraqi political and religious leaders have all called for calm.

But a spokesman for Iraq's top Shia

cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said the anger may be hard to contain.

" You wouldn't expect an abrupt or

sudden calm, because there are some people whose reaction you can't

control, " London-based spokesman Fadel Bahar al-Eloum told the BBC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4742188.stm

 

Dasha: Ma/Ra/Ma/Ve/Ra

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Jorge Angelino

 

 

Rua da Sociedade Filarmónica

Perpétua Azeitonense, 29

2925-598 Azeitão

Portugal

 

 

 

 

jorge.angelino

 

 

 

 

 

 

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