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BAGHDAD — A controversy over control of a religious shrine where a 2006 bombing set off waves of sectarian killings took a new violent turn on Monday morning when a suicide car bomber struck an important Shiite religious office in central Baghdad, leaving at least 18 dead and nearly 125 wounded.
The strike against the Shiite office was the deadliest single attack in the capital in nearly three months. It occurred as a dispute escalated between Sunnis and Shiites over control of the Askariya Shrine in Samarra, a largely Sunni city north of Baghdad.
Later on Monday a homemade bomb was discovered in the rear of the Sunni Endowment office in Adhamiya, a Sunni stronghold, and was detonated under the supervision of security officials.
The Shiite and Sunni endowment offices, which administer mosques and other religious and cultural sites around the country, are the competing authorities at the center of the dispute over the rebuilding of the shrine and the possible development of surrounding areas.
“Iraqis need to stop killing each other,” said Sadeq al-Mousawi, who was nearby but unharmed when the suicide bomber struck. “What did the victims of today do to be killed? Sectarianism has no mercy against anyone, and there are groups of criminals and militias used by officials and politicians to achieve their specific agendas.”
Though violence in Iraq has moderated in recent months, in the wake of the American troop withdrawal, the nature of Monday’s attacks laid bare the sectarian disputes that still poison Iraqi society. Attacks on Shiite pilgrims are still common, and several days ago a series of explosions rocked Baghdad, killing at least 17, including more than a dozen in a single strike at a market in a predominantly Shiite neighborhood.
Some at the bombing scene on Monday said they believed the government was behind the attack, a sentiment expressed frequently by Iraqis who know too well that many of their elected officials have in the past been linked to militias.
At the Sunni Endowment in Adhamiya, where the roadside bomb was discovered, an employee complained that the Shiites “are trying to take everything from the Sunnis, and now they are taking our mosques, one by one.”
The 2006 bombing of the Askariya Shrine, which is claimed as holy by both Shiite and Sunni Muslims and has been a source of pride and business for Samarra’s Sunni citizens for centuries, escalated the vicious cycle of sectarian violence and dragged Iraq deeper into civil war.
That the shrine is still a locus for Iraq’s sectarian divisions illustrates how far Iraq is from salving its psychic wounds. After the 2006 bombing, a special army brigade under the direction of the prime minister’s officer took control of the shrine from Samarra’s Sunni residents. The government had moved lately to shift control of the shrine to the Shiite Endowment, but Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki intervened to halt the move, and the authorities in Salahuddin Province, where Samarra is, have said they will pursue a lawsuit to prevent the site from being taken over by the Shiite Endowment.
The American invasion upended generations of dominance over Iraq by its Sunni minority, leaving Shiites empowered and Sunnis feeling disenfranchised.
“They destroyed the Askariya Shrine before, and we don’t want to see that happen again,” said Hassan Jasim, a Shiite laborer in the southern city of Hilla, referring to the Sunnis. “I am amazed why they are making so much noise about it. They used to take everything under Saddam, and no one blames them for it.” A takeover of the site by the Shiite Endowment would be “better for both sides,” he said.
Even as the controversy loomed, developers and the Shiite authorities began rebuilding the shrine and its surroundings with the aim of making it a tourist destination, with new hotels and restaurants. The plan, which included offers to buy properties owned by Sunnis, has angered local residents, who bristled under an influx of Shiite pilgrims from Iran after the 2003 invasion. On the streets of Samarra on Monday, residents expressed anger and fear of a return to the days of sectarian carnage.
“There is a sectarian purpose behind the acts of the Shiite Endowment in Samarra,” said Ahmad Riyadh, a Samarra resident. “The people of Samarra will not stand still while the Iranians occupy what has been ours for thousands of years.”
Adnan Majed, another Samarran, worried that the attack on Monday would be used as a pretext by security forces. “They will accuse the Sunnis of blowing up the Shiite Endowment, and they will react by arresting more Sunnis,” he said.
Still, the controversy is also about control over tourism — and the money that it generates.
Kamal Salih, a Shiite lawyer in Hilla, put it this way: “They are not fighting for the shrines; they are fighting for the money that these shrines can bring to them. It’s just another way to play with people’s emotions to gain advantages.”
Employees of The New York Times contributed reporting from Baghdad and Samarra, Iraq.
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The strike against the Shiite office was the deadliest single attack in the capital in nearly three months. It occurred as a dispute escalated between Sunnis and Shiites over control of the Askariya Shrine in Samarra, a largely Sunni city north of Baghdad.
Later on Monday a homemade bomb was discovered in the rear of the Sunni Endowment office in Adhamiya, a Sunni stronghold, and was detonated under the supervision of security officials.
The Shiite and Sunni endowment offices, which administer mosques and other religious and cultural sites around the country, are the competing authorities at the center of the dispute over the rebuilding of the shrine and the possible development of surrounding areas.
“Iraqis need to stop killing each other,” said Sadeq al-Mousawi, who was nearby but unharmed when the suicide bomber struck. “What did the victims of today do to be killed? Sectarianism has no mercy against anyone, and there are groups of criminals and militias used by officials and politicians to achieve their specific agendas.”
Though violence in Iraq has moderated in recent months, in the wake of the American troop withdrawal, the nature of Monday’s attacks laid bare the sectarian disputes that still poison Iraqi society. Attacks on Shiite pilgrims are still common, and several days ago a series of explosions rocked Baghdad, killing at least 17, including more than a dozen in a single strike at a market in a predominantly Shiite neighborhood.
Some at the bombing scene on Monday said they believed the government was behind the attack, a sentiment expressed frequently by Iraqis who know too well that many of their elected officials have in the past been linked to militias.
At the Sunni Endowment in Adhamiya, where the roadside bomb was discovered, an employee complained that the Shiites “are trying to take everything from the Sunnis, and now they are taking our mosques, one by one.”
The 2006 bombing of the Askariya Shrine, which is claimed as holy by both Shiite and Sunni Muslims and has been a source of pride and business for Samarra’s Sunni citizens for centuries, escalated the vicious cycle of sectarian violence and dragged Iraq deeper into civil war.
That the shrine is still a locus for Iraq’s sectarian divisions illustrates how far Iraq is from salving its psychic wounds. After the 2006 bombing, a special army brigade under the direction of the prime minister’s officer took control of the shrine from Samarra’s Sunni residents. The government had moved lately to shift control of the shrine to the Shiite Endowment, but Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki intervened to halt the move, and the authorities in Salahuddin Province, where Samarra is, have said they will pursue a lawsuit to prevent the site from being taken over by the Shiite Endowment.
The American invasion upended generations of dominance over Iraq by its Sunni minority, leaving Shiites empowered and Sunnis feeling disenfranchised.
“They destroyed the Askariya Shrine before, and we don’t want to see that happen again,” said Hassan Jasim, a Shiite laborer in the southern city of Hilla, referring to the Sunnis. “I am amazed why they are making so much noise about it. They used to take everything under Saddam, and no one blames them for it.” A takeover of the site by the Shiite Endowment would be “better for both sides,” he said.
Even as the controversy loomed, developers and the Shiite authorities began rebuilding the shrine and its surroundings with the aim of making it a tourist destination, with new hotels and restaurants. The plan, which included offers to buy properties owned by Sunnis, has angered local residents, who bristled under an influx of Shiite pilgrims from Iran after the 2003 invasion. On the streets of Samarra on Monday, residents expressed anger and fear of a return to the days of sectarian carnage.
“There is a sectarian purpose behind the acts of the Shiite Endowment in Samarra,” said Ahmad Riyadh, a Samarra resident. “The people of Samarra will not stand still while the Iranians occupy what has been ours for thousands of years.”
Adnan Majed, another Samarran, worried that the attack on Monday would be used as a pretext by security forces. “They will accuse the Sunnis of blowing up the Shiite Endowment, and they will react by arresting more Sunnis,” he said.
Still, the controversy is also about control over tourism — and the money that it generates.
Kamal Salih, a Shiite lawyer in Hilla, put it this way: “They are not fighting for the shrines; they are fighting for the money that these shrines can bring to them. It’s just another way to play with people’s emotions to gain advantages.”
Employees of The New York Times contributed reporting from Baghdad and Samarra, Iraq.
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