Iraqi shrine bomb fuels Shi'ite fury

A dawn bomb attack devastated a major Shi'ite shrine in Iraq yesterday, sparking sectarian reprisals and an urgent appeal from the President not to let the country slide into civil war.

The apparently bloodless attack on the Golden Mosque in Samarra, one of Shi'ite Islam's holiest sites, provoked more violence than Sunni rebel attacks that have killed thousands and the Shi'ite-led government and religious leaders urged calm.

Three Sunni clerics were among six people killed, police said, at 27 Sunni mosques in Baghdad attacked by militants. Much damage was minor but at least two mosques were burned out. There were sectarian clashes in other cities and in Baghdad fearful residents rushed home before dark, some stocking up on food.

President Jalal Talabani, an ethnic Kurd, accused the attackers of trying to derail negotiations on a national unity coalition: "We must... work together against... the danger of civil war," he said in a televised address to the nation.

The US, anxious to calm passions and bring its troops home, has pressured Shi'ite leaders to bring Sunnis into government after the rebellious minority took part in an election in December; a top Shi'ite politician accused the US envoy of encouraging the bombers by supporting Sunni demands.

Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, calling on Iraqis to "unite against terror", said Washington would help repair the shrine in the mainly Sunni city north of Baghdad and accused al Qaeda of a "deliberate attempt to foment sectarian strife".

The Shi'ites' reclusive and aging senior cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani made a rare, if silent, television appearance that underlined the gravity of the crisis. He called in a statement for protests but restraint as protesters outside his office in Najaf chanted: "Rise up Shi'ites! Take revenge!"

Since US forces toppled Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated government in 2003, Sistani has helped hold in check anger many Shi'ites feel against al Qaeda and other Sunni militants as the Shi'ite majority tastes power after years of oppression.

Shi'ite violence against Sunnis has been relatively limited, though Sunnis accuse the police of running death squads against them.

Armed Mehdi Army militiamen loyal to radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr took up positions on streets in Baghdad and Shi'ite cities in the south, clashing in Basra and elsewhere with Sunnis. A Sadr aide said: "If the Iraqi government does not do its job to defend the Iraqi people we are ready to do so."

Talks on the government composition have exposed divisions among Shi'ite leaders, with Sadr gaining influence, and mixed responses to the crisis may reflect jockeying for power.