Tehran, 2007/06/15, IRIB

Under conditions when global condemnation of the sacrilegious terrorist attack on the holy shrine of the 10th and 11th infallible Imams of the Household of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.a.) in the Iraqi city of Sammara still continues different Iraqi cities have become scenes of massive protest rallies against the perpetrators of such terrorist and sacrilegious acts.

Two minarets of the al-Askari shrine, also called Golden Mosque, in Sammara collapsed after being hit by two powerful blasts on Wednesday, according to Iraqi officials.

Meanwhile, millions of Muslim Iranians took to the streets on Friday across the country to strongly condemn the US-backed terrorist attack against the holy shrine of Imam Ali al-Naqi and Imam Hassan al-Asgari in the Iraqi city of Sammara. During protest rallies in different Iraqi cities on Thursday the demonstrators while condemning such an act of terrorism against Muslim sanctities called for the withdrawal of the occupiers from war-torn Iraq, and held them responsible for the ongoing insecurity across the country.

A point worth pondering, which was obvious in protest rallies held in Basra, was the symbolic act of demonstrators who marched from the Al-Moarefi Grand Mosque toward the building of the Council of Sunni Scholars. The terrorist act against the Muslim holy site in Sammara, which is the second such sacrilegious act, took place with the sinister of goal of fueling civil war and inflaming religious and sectarian conflicts in Iraq. Suspicious contacts of the United States with several armed insurgent groups in Iraq and also the intention declared by the White House of empowering remnants of the Baath regime can be assessed by political circles as the driving force behind the ongoing unrests and chaos in Iraq to sow discord between Shiites and Sunnis. This is under condition when in a recent report by the Pentagon to Congress it has been acknowledged that despite the new US plan for Baghdad the US death toll is rising and violence has escalated.

The intensification of violence in Iraq, which is the result of the US-led occupation, has deteriorated Iraq's security situation. Under international laws any occupier is responsible for ensuring the security of the occupied country. The mounting human loss in Iraq has depicted a dark future for the Iraqi people in view of the unrealistic policies of the White House. Regrettably, such a perspective will cause an irreparable damage, the responsibility of which directly rests on the shoulders of the US occupiers.

On February 22, 2006  Wednesday the shrine of Imam Ali al-Naqi and Imam Hassan al-Asgari at Sammara was bombed by conspirators who aimed at violating the religious values, causing discord and sectarian wars as well as damaging national unity in Iraq.  

Iraq