A blast destroyed a Sunni mosque Saturday in Basra, residents said, in the second retaliatory attack in as many days for the toppling of minarets at a prized Shiite shrine in Samarra. Iraqi police did not immediately respond to the bombing of the al-Ashrah al-Mubashra mosque, witnesses said.
Bombers loaded into pickup trucks pulled up to the al-Ashrah al-Mubashra mosque in Basra's al-Hakimiya district at dawn, residents in nearby houses said. Minutes after they left, a powerful blast tore through the building, leveling it completely. Some nearby houses were damaged in the blast, but no injuries were reported.
Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates was in Baghdad, where a citywide curfew remained in place to prevent mosque attacks or other retaliatory violence. He was expected to press the Iraqi government to move more quickly toward political reconciliation and other vital reforms that many see as critical to gaining control of violence in the country.
On his part, Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on Iraqi Shiites Saturday to gather next month at the Askariya shrine to show their commitment to their faith. In a statement, al-Sadr said the pilgrimage to the shrine will climax July 7, which falls on the birthday of Fatima al-Zahraa, daughter of Islam's 7th century Prophet Muhammad and wife of Imam Ali, the founder of the Shiite faith.
"I hope the Sunnis of Iraq will be there waiting for you, paving the road with roses and basil leaves, opening their hearts and their homes to you," he said. "Let your pilgrimage be one of love, peace, security and unity ... go bearing olive branches and wearing shrouds."
In Iraq's western Anbar province, the remains of 13 members of an Iraqi taekwondo team kidnapped last year were found near the main highway leading to Jordan, police and hospital officials said. The team had been driving to a training camp there in May 2006 when their convoy was interrupted.
Members of the Anbar Salvation Council found the 13 bodies Friday west of Ramadi, said Anbar police Col. Rashid Nayef.
