A New Attack on a Shiite Shrine Roils Iraq

What happened

The minarets at the 'œGolden Dome'' mosque in Samarra were toppled by several explosions this week, 15 months after an attack on the Shiite shrine plunged the country into an escalating cycle of sectarian revenge. Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr blamed the Iraqi government for failing to protect the already-damaged shrine, and 30 legislators affiliated with his political party announced a boycott of the parliament. American authorities blamed terrorists affiliated with al Qaida in Mesopotamia for the attack, calling it 'œa deliberate attempt to sow dissent and inflame sectarian strife among the people of Iraq.'

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