Minarets on Shiite Shrine in Iraq Destroyed in Attack

GRAHAM BOWLEY, NYTimes

One of Iraq’s most sacred Shiite shrines, the Imam al-Askari mosque in Samarra, was attacked and severely damaged again today, just over a year after a previous attack on the site unleashed a tide of sectarian bloodletting across the country. Following the attack, which destroyed the mosque’s two minarets, the Iraqi government announced a curfew in Baghdad starting at 3 p.m. local time today. Shiite leaders called for calm. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most revered Shiite cleric in Iraq, condemned the bombing, but appealed to Iraqis to show restraint. It was unclear who carried out the attack in the predominantly Sunni town about 60 miles north of Baghdad...

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