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02/24/2006:

"Ten imams murdered in Iraq as sectarian killings intensify"

It is a measure of the degree of violence that seven American soldiers were killed by bombs on Wednesday in the separate struggle between the resistance and the US occupation. Although the presence of 130,000 American troops is justified by saying that they are preventing a civil war, it is not clear what they can do to prevent it happening.

Two days of bloodshed

WEDNESDAY 22 FEBRUARY

Dawn attack destroys the Golden Mosque in Samarra, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam. No one is injured but violent protests soon break out.

* More than 50 Sunni mosques attacked in Baghdad alone.

* In Basra, protesters set fire to Sunni shrine containing the remains of one of Mohamed's companions. Sunni cleric is shot dead in the afternoon.

* 11pm: Eleven prisoners taken from a jail in Basra by unidentified gunmen and shot in the head.

THURSDAY 23 FEBRUARY

9am: Bodies of three al-Arabiya journalists sent to cover the Samarra bombing found dumped.

* 10am: 47 people dragged from their cars and shot while returning from a protest against the Samarra bombing north of Baghdad.

* Iraqi President Jalal Talabani summons political leaders to a meeting but the biggest Sunni faction, the Iraqi Accordance Front, refuses to attend.

* Numerous bodies, many with their hands tied, found in east Baghdad and Basra. Most victims are Sunnis.

* As night falls, more than 130 people are believed to have been killed.

The reaction worldwide

"They invade the shrine and bomb there because they oppose God and justice. These passive activities are the acts of a group of defeated Zionists and occupiers."
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranian President

"This bombing is intended to create civil strife... [it was] an evil act. I appreciate very much the leaders from all aspects of Iraqi society that have stood up and urged for there to be calm. The destruction of a holy site is a political act intending to create strife."
President George Bush

"There is not yet information about what caused this terrorist outrage, but [Abu Musab] al-Zarqawi and al-Qaida have been linked as it has the hallmarks of their nihilism."
Jack Straw, Foreign Secretary

"I tell the Americans, the Zionists and the criminals who committed the crime in Samarra that all your aims will fail. I tell them that this nation will not be torn apart... It will not fall for the tricks of the occupiers."
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Lebanon's Hizbollah chief

"We want a clear condemnation from the government which didn't do enough to curb those angry mobs. There was even co-operation with the government in attacking the Sunni mosques."
Salman al-Jumaili, Sunni politician in Iraq
independent.co.uk