Sunnis, Shiites Protest Sectarian Attacks

BAGHDAD —  Sunni Muslims clerics closed several mosques here after Friday prayers, and thousands of Shiite Muslims took to the streets in several Iraqi cities, both in protest of assassinations and largely sectarian violence that have left more than 450 dead in recent weeks.

The Muslim Scholars Assn., an influential Sunni group, called for the three-day closure of the mosques, protesting what the group said was violence against Sunni Arabs by Shiites.

“In spite of all these tragic incidents, we are still calling for self-restraint and that reason and calmness would prevail,” Sheik Ahmad Abdul-Ghafoor Samarrai said during Friday prayers. He called on the Iraqi government to investigate alleged violence against Sunnis before security deteriorates “even more.”

Crowds of thousands protested in the Shiite-dominated southern cities of Najaf, Kufa and Nasiriya, and at least 17 people were wounded in Nasiriya when a gunfight broke out, according to Associated Press.

Heeding a call from radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr, worshipers waved the Koran and stepped on American and Israeli flags painted outside several mosques, AP reported.

The protests occurred amid continued violence around Baghdad, the Iraqi capital.

A rocket attack wounded five detainees, three of them seriously, at the Abu Ghraib prison just outside Baghdad, the U.S. military said. Officials also confirmed that an American soldier was killed Thursday in a roadside bombing north of Baghdad.

A mortar round hit an area behind Baghdad’s Bratha Mosque on Friday afternoon while more than 1,000 people were attending prayers. Worshipers could hear gunshots outside, and started chanting, “Death to the Baathists” and “God is most great.” Sheik Jalaluddin Saghir, who was leading the prayers, asked people to return to their knees because standing was not permitted during the service, a witness said.

Elsewhere in Baghdad, an Iraqi national guard patrol was driving along the west bank of the Tigris River when a parked car exploded, killing two civilians. Other Iraqi forces rushed to the scene. Heavy gunfire erupted between the Sunni and Shiite neighborhoods divided by the river, police and witnesses said.

Apache helicopters sent in by the U.S. military fired at the neighborhood on the east bank, setting several houses afire, a policeman said.

Afterward, American Humvees patrolled the empty streets.

Sami Hashim, 52, was among those wounded in the explosion who were taken to Kadhimiya General Hospital.

“I was in a minibus on the riverside road,” Hashim recounted. A national guard patrol overtook the bus, waving to the driver that he should pull aside as they passed by.

“The driver slowed down, and shortly after that there was an explosion,” Hashim said. “All the windows shattered, and I fell on the ground. My injuries are minor, but two of the passengers are in a critical condition.”

Times staff writers Saif Rasheed, Shamil Aziz, Raheem Salman and Suhail Ahmad contributed to this report.