The Golden Mosque of Samarra, Iraq (Photo: BBC)

The Golden Mosque in Samarra is one of four major shrines in Iraq which are deeply revered by Shi'ite Muslims worldwide.

Iraqi officials across the sectarian and ethnic divides have clamored to condemn the attack by gunmen who set off charges inside the mosque, where two of Shi'ite Islam's 12 venerated Imams are believed to buried.

But analysts say it is sure to fuel tensions between Sunni and Shi'ite Iraqis bubbling since the U.S. invasion of 2003.

"For the Shi'ites, the Imams are deeply revered and considered holy. From their point of view, this is a major assault comparable to an attack on Mecca for all Muslims," said Hazim al-Naimi, a political science professor at Baghdad's Mustansiriya University.

"We will definitely see more sectarianism after this attack. This will cause more problems and it could push the country closer to civil war."

Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr blamed Sunni Arab militants for the bombing and vowed revenge. Witnesses said scores of his militiamen armed with AK-47 rifles and rocket-propelled grenades took over streets in his Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City.

No one appeared to be hurt in the Samarra attack, but it has already provoked more visible outrage from Iraqi Shi'ites than bombings that have killed scores of their people in the past.

In the deadliest attack in 2004, at least 171 people were killed in twin attacks in Baghdad and Kerbala while they marked the Shi'ite holiday of Ashura. Sectarian tensions have mounted since then, with huge suicide bombings in Shi'ite areas and Sunni accusations of reprisal attacks.

SYMBOLISM

"The shrine in Samarra has huge symbolic importance for Shi'ites in Iraq and everywhere," said Joost Hilterman, analyst for the Washington-based International Crisis Group, who has recently completed a report on sectarian splits in Iraq.

"The attack we saw this morning will affect the Shi'ites more than one on the people or on any mosque. This attack will inflame sectarian passions as hugely as an attack on Najaf or Kerbala," he said, referring to the two holiest Shi'ite cities.

Wednesday's attack in Samarra was not the first time Shi'ite places of worship have been damaged since the war that toppled Saddam Hussein, a Sunni who oppressed the Shi'ite majority.

The shrine of Imam Ali, founder of Shi'ite Islam, in Najaf was damaged in 2004 fighting between U.S. troops and a Shi'ite militia.

But analysts said Wednesday's attack would harden suspicions among Shi'ites, who now dominate the government and Interior Ministry, that Sunni politicians involved in talks on joining a coalition government, were turning a blind eye to insurgents.

"What we have seen is an emergent tit-for-tat dynamic that some say is civil war and others say could turn into one," Hilterman said. "It really depends where you draw the line."

Copyright © 2006 Reuters

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