Iraq mosque bomb spurs revenge

25/03/2007| IslamWeb

A Sunni mosque has been attacked and set ablaze in Haswa, a religiously mixed town 35 miles south of Baghdad, the capital.
 
Attackers stormed the mosque on Sunday morning, blew up its minaret and set it on fire, police said.
 
The Sunni mosque was apparently burnt in revenge for the destruction of a Shia mosque in the town the previous day.
 
Police said at least four people were wounded in Sunday's attack. A second Sunni mosque was attacked at the same time but damage was reported to be minor.
 
As residents combed the ruins of the building on Sunday, a column of armored US and Iraqi Humvee vehicles nearby came under machinegun fire. 

US troops could be seen running into buildings nearby. The area was rocked by an explosion that sent a large cloud of dust into the air.

The cause of the blast was not immediately clear. There were no immediate reports of any casualties.

Police in Hilla, close to the town of Haswa, said a curfew had been imposed.

Shia mosque attacked
On Saturday, a suicide truck bomber exploded outside a Shia mosque in the town, killing 14 and wounding 21, Hilla police said.

The provincial health directorate and Baghdad police put the toll from that attack at 16. Only the mosque's minaret was left standing.

Mosques and other religious buildings have been frequent targets of attack.

The bombing of a revered Shia shrine, the al-Askariya mosque, in the town of Samarra last year sparked a wave of sectarian fighting between Iraq's majority Shia and minority Sunnis that has killed tens of thousands.

Photo caption

Al-Askariya mosque, in the town of Samarra after being bombed last year