Muharram 23 marks sorrowful anniversary of first bombing in Holy Shrine of al-Askariyyayn Imams by radical Sunnis, Wahhabi agents
The Holy Shrine of the 10th Imam, Imam al-Hadi, and his son, Imam al-Hassan al-Askari, the 11th Imam, peace be upon them both, is a pilgrimage site for Shiites located in the city of Samarra.
This sacred place, however, has been attacked and desecrated several times by the enemies of Ahlul-Bayt, peace be upon them, throughout history.
Nineteen years ago, on the 23rd day of Muharram, 1427 AH (February 22, 2006), extremist Sunnis and Wahhabi agents perpetrated the first bombing of the holy site, setting a pattern of desecration and a precedence for later heinous acts.
The Holy Shrine of al-Askariyyayn Imams, Imam al-Hadi and Imam al-Hassan al-Askari, peace be upon them both, in Samarra was blown up in two stages and was partially destroyed by the enemies of Ahlul-Bayt in a period between 2006 and 2008.
This disgraceful act sparked the reaction of the supreme authorities of Taqlid, especially Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Sadegh al-Hosseini al-Shirazi, as well as Shiites in different regions of the world. Many personalities and international centers condemned the terrorist act.
In the first act of terrorism by radical Sunnis and Wahhabi operatives, the Holy Shrine of Askariyyayn Imams was destroyed with explosives placed inside the holy shrine.
At around seven in the morning, some radical Sunnis and Wahhabi operatives, wearing the uniforms of Iraqi rangers, entered the Holy Shrine and imprisoned its servants in one of the courtyards. Then, they placed explosives such as TNT inside the Holy Shrine and left the place, leaving the holy shrine in Samara destroyed.
Due to the high volume of explosives which was estimated to be around 200 kg, the brick covering and gilding of the dome as well as its tiling collapsed. Some materials were even thrown up to a radius of half a kilometer around the shrine. However, the foundations of the dome and its main body remained intact due to its high strength.
After this terrorist act, the Supreme Taqlid Authority announced three days of public mourning and the markets were closed. Some people also moved from different cities of Iraq to Samarra and mourned at the house of the Imam of the Time, May Allah hasten his reappearance.
For some time, the Holy Shrine in Samarra was closed, and the pilgrims and devotees of this Holy Shrine were not able to visit this sacred place.
The radical Sunnis and Wahhabi operatives did not stop at this destruction and terrorist act, and on 27th of Jumadi al-Awal 1428 A.H., they bombed the Holy Shrine for the second time.
This time, they did not wear the uniforms of Iraqi rangers or their own forces, and suddenly attacked the servants of the Holy Shrine, and after ensuing fighting with the servants, a terrible sound was heard from the Shrine. The left and then the right minaret were completely destroyed.
It should be mentioned that the Sunni extremist forces of ISIS also planned to attack and destroy the Shrine of the Askariyyayn Imams on June 16, 2013, but with the resistance of the people and the security forces, the attack was neutralized, securing the defeat of these enemies of the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them.
