11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Assassinations of 3 senior Sunni clerics in Mosul in 2007 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23802]

"On September 29, in three separate attacks in Mosul, unknown gunmen killed Sheikh Azhar Ahmed Hussein al-Dulaimi, the Sunni imam of al-Sahabah Mosque; Sheikh Salim Sheet Mohammed al-Hamdani, the Sunni imam of Mahmoud al-Sadeq Mosque; and Sheikh Ghanim Qasem, the Sunni imam of al-Huda Mosque."

Document(s): Open document

08.2007 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Attacks of Shi'ite militias against Sunni Muslims ("UNHCR's Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Iraqi Asylum-seekers") [ID 22814]

"Shi’ite militias on the other hand are mainly operating in the form of death squads, but have also launched a series of mortar attacks on (homogenous) Sunni neighbourhoods. For example, after the devastating attack in Sadr City on 23 November 2006, Shi’ites responded almost immediately with reprisals, firing ten mortar rounds at the Sunni Abu Hanifa mosque in Adhamiya, the holiest Sunni shrine in Baghdad, killing one person and wounding seven. The morning of 24 November 2006, AP reported that Shi’ite militiamen retaliated for the previous day’s attacks, dousing six Sunni Arabs in kerosene and burning them alive. The Iraqi Army could not confirm the reports of Sunnis being burned alive, and found only one mosque that had suffered fire damage. However, the AP stood by its story after reconfirming its details with their sources."

Document(s): Open document

28.06.2007 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Article on political situation of Sunnis ("Iraq: Sunnis Fear Being Forced Out Of Government") [ID 20489]

"Iraq's Sunnis, who were once at the top of the political hierarchy, have found themselves looking up at the Shi'a and Kurds, who now form the new political elite in post-Hussein Iraq. Four years after the U.S.-led invasion, Sunnis now complain that although many of them have joined the political process, they continue to be marginalized. [...] While it is highly unlikely that the Iraqi government is systematically trying to target Sunni politicians, there is a prevalent belief within the Sunni community that it is actively trying to do so. The perception among Sunnis that the Shi'ite-led government is trying to lock them out of the political process could lead to the eventual collapse of that process."

Document(s): Open document

27.06.2007 - Source: Guardian

Baghdad: Pro-US Sunni leaders killed in suicide bomb attack on hotel lobby ("12 die as bomber targets Sunnis") [ID 20491]

"A suicide bomber blew himself up yesterday in the lobby of a Baghdad hotel, where Sunni leaders opposed to al-Qaida in Iraq were gathered for talks with government officials. Police said at least 12 people were killed - including six sheikhs - and 21 injured, as the bomber walked into the crowded reception area of the Mansour Melia hotel and detonated explosives wrapped around his waist. The attack was among a series of bombings that killed more than 40 people across Iraq, ending a few days of relative calm. In the northern oil city of Baiji, 18 people were killed and another 40 wounded when a suicide bomber slammed a fuel tanker into a police station. In Mosul, a parked car bomb killed three civilians and wounded 40. Eight people died when a suicide car bomber attacked the governor's office in the Shia city of Hilla, south of the capital."

Document(s): Open document

19.06.2007 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Baghdad: Sunni families remaining in Shia neighbourhoods are being forced to flee their homes ("Threats, violence in Baghdad threaten new wave of displaced") [ID 20606]

"Sunni families remaining in Shia neighbourhoods of Baghdad are being forced to flee their homes: A 72-hour deadline announced by militants for them to leave these areas or face death expires on 18 June. The ultimatum has put many Iraqi families in a desperate situation and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are worried as displacement camps could not cope with all the internally displaced people (IDPs) that this ultimatum might trigger."

Document(s): Open document

14.06.2007 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Sectarian violence and displacement after Samarra bomb attack ("Sectarian violence and displacement follow Samarra attack") [ID 20618]

"Since 13 June, Mahdi army militants have been targeting Sunni mosques and families. At least six Sunni mosques have been burned in the capital and many civilians killed, said some observers. [...] Since 13 June, the Iraqi police have released many reports about bodies found handcuffed, blindfolded and riddled with bullets in various locations, many with signs of torture."

Document(s): Open document

09.12.2006 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Mosul: Sunni insurgents to try to establish an Islamic state in Iraq; residents are forced to comply with puritanical Islamic laws as they tighten their grip on Mosul ("Sunni Militants Issue Religious Edicts in Mosul") [ID 18202]

Document(s): Open document

05.12.2006 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

The years-old peaceful coexistence between members of different religions and sects in Baghdad is threatened with a battle underway between the two major Muslim sects to have their own territory in the city ("Sectarian violence tears Baghdad into two parts") [ID 18080]

Document(s): Open document

24.11.2006 - Source: ReliefWeb

Sunni mosques attacked after deadly Baghdad bombings ("Sunni mosques attacked after deadly Baghdad bombings"), Autor: AFP [ID 19220]

"Dozens were feared dead in Iraq Friday as militias launched apparent revenge attacks on Sunni mosques in Baghdad in the wake of the deadliest string of bombings against a Shiite neighbourhood since the war began in 2003. Just a few hours before the attack, Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's political group threatened to quit the national unity government if Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki meets US President George W. Bush in Jordan on November 29. At least four Sunni mosques were attacked by militias in western Baghdad, a security official said, in an apparent Shiite revenge attack for Thursday's deadly bombings targeting the capital's neighbourhood of Sadr City."

Document(s): Open document

30.05.2005 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Formation of a united political Sunni bloc ("original document (English)") [ID 10526]

"The announcement on 21 May by more than 1,000 Iraqi Sunni political, religious, and tribal leaders of the formation of a united political bloc represents the first unified step that Sunnis have taken within the political process since the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime. (...)

Meanwhile, some Shi'ite leaders, who constitute a majority in the transitional government, appear unwilling to participate in any form of power sharing with Sunnis -- a consequence of 30 years of oppression at the hands of a Sunni-dominated Ba'athist government. But Sunni leaders appear to have found an unlikely ally. Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who is best known for his militia's fierce resistance of the U.S.-led occupation, told Al-Arabiyah television in a 22 May interview that he has been accepted by the Sunni-led Muslim Scholars Association and by the Shi'ite party Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) as a mediator to help soothe tensions between the two groups (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 May 2005)."

Document(s): original document (English)

26.01.2005 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Report focused on Sunni Arab community in connection with the upcoming elections ("Special Report: Defusing Sunni Anger") [#28570],  [ID 10527]

Document(s): Open document

23.11.2004 - Source: BBC News

Muqdadiyah: senior Sunni cleric killed; earlier, Sheikh Feydhi Mohammed al-Feydhi was killed in Mosul ("Bomb found on Baghdad airliner") [#27269],  [ID 10251]

Document(s): Open document

15.10.2004 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Al-Ramadi: US Forces arrest Sunni cleric ("original document") [ID 10253]

"U.S. FORCES ARREST SUNNI CLERIC. U.S. forces arrested a Sunni cleric during a raid on his mosque in Al-Ramadi, Al-Jazeera reported on 12 October. The cleric, Abd al-Alim al-Sa'di, is the imam of the Abd al-Salam Mosque and head of the Al-Anbar Islamic Scholars League. His son Usama was also arrested in the raid. Reuters reported that six other people were detained in raids at other mosques in the area. Fighting broke out between U.S. forces and militants across the Al-Anbar governorate on 11 October, which includes the volatile towns of Al-Ramadi and Al-Fallujah. Reuters cited hospitals as reporting that three civilians and a police officer were killed in the clashes.

Muhammad Bashar al-Faydi, spokesman for the Muslim Scholars Association told London's "Al-Sharq al-Awsat" in a 12 October interview published the following day that the raids on mosques equated to an American religious crusade against Muslims. "There is frankly speaking a crusade targeting Islam and the Muslims. The occupation forces violated the sanctity of nine mosques in Al-Ramadi city," the spokesman claimed. "This is a religious war, as [U.S. President George W.] Bush had said. This is not an operation of hunting down resistance. Resistance does not sit in mosques," he contended.

Al-Faydi also claimed that U.S. forces entered the mosques during the raids, while U.S. military spokesmen have said that the United States provided support for Iraqis, but did not enter the mosques during the raids. U.S. Commander Leo Gilbert, a spokesman for the Marine Corps press office in Al-Anbar, told Al-Jazeera television on 12 October: "The multinational force does not go into mosques. We are the support of the Iraqi security forces, who go into the mosques for the sole purpose of searching the mosques for insurgents and any Iraqi forces who are choosing to use those mosques as a base of operation to hurt individuals."

Asked if he can prove that militants have used mosques as a base, Gilbert said: "I am absolutely certain that the multinational force and the Iraqi security forces on more than one occasion had observed anti-Iraqi forces and insurgents in three areas where they were conducting illicit and wrong activities then go into the mosques and use these mosques as a refuge." (Kathleen Ridolfo)"

Document(s): original document

01.10.2004 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Iraqi religious leaders: Sunni leaders ("original document") [ID 10528]

"Harith al-Dari -- An influential member of the Muslim Scholars Association who acts as the head of media affairs for the Sunni group. Led a delegation of Arabs to the Arab League in July 2003 asking it to not recognize the Governing Council. According to "Al-Quds al-Arabi," al-Dari is the grandson of Sheikh Dari, a national Iraqi hero who killed colonial British officer Colonel Gerard Leachman during the 1920 revolution in Iraq. Sheikh Harith was born in 1941 and graduated from Al-Azhar University in 1967. He holds a doctorate in hadith (prophetic tradition) and interpretation. He taught Islamic law at the Iraqi, Jordanian, and UAE universities. He returned to Iraq after occupation and joined the national ranks that are calling for liberation from occupation.

Ahmad al-Kubaysi -- Sunni sheikh who is said to be linked to Muslim Brotherhood. Returned to Iraq after fall of Saddam Hussein. Critical of U.S. administration in Iraq. Publishes the newspaper "Al-Sa'ah." Al-Kubaysi is known for his popular talk shows and lectures on several pan-Arab television stations. He resided in the United Arab Emirates for five years prior to the Hussein regime's demise. Pledged in August 2003 to work with the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) but did not, and remained critical of the occupation and IGC. Heads the political party Unified National Movement. The interim Iraqi government banned al-Kubaysi in September 2004 from returning to Iraq reportedly because of his ties to Sunni militants. Was reported to have given $50 million to Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to fund the latter's militant activities in 2003, a charge al-Kubaysi denies.

Abd al-Sattar Abd al-Jabbar -- A controversial cleric opposed to U.S.-led occupation and member of the Muslim Scholars Association. Abd al-Jabbar condoned the killing of 12 Nepalese hostages in Iraq by saying that anyone who works with the occupation should be considered part of the occupation. Abd al-Jabbar was asked by Al-Jazeera in August to comment on the standoff between multinational forces and militants loyal to Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. He responded by saying that U.S. troops and the Iraqi government did not want a solution, but wanted "to destroy Iraq.""

Document(s): original document

24.09.2004 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Baghdad: SUNNI CLERICS abducted and ASSASSINATED ("original document") [ID 10254]

"SUNNI CLERICS ASSASSINATED IN BAGHDAD. Two members of the Sunni group the Muslim Scholars Association, were assassinated in Baghdad on 20 September, Al-Jazeera television reported the same day.

The body of Sheikh Hazim al-Zaydi was found in front of the Al-Sajjad Mosque in the capital's Al-Sadr City neighborhood, the satellite news channel reported. Al-Zaydi was reportedly kidnapped and killed before his body was dumped, KUNA reported on 21 September. He was the rapporteur for the association's Follow-up and Coordination Department. Meanwhile, gunmen assassinated Sheikh Muhammad Jaddu as he exited the Al-Kawthar Mosque in the Al-Bayya area of western Baghdad following noon prayers, Al-Jazeera reported.

A member of the association told Al-Arabiyah television on 20 September that: "A few days ago, the Pentagon announces that there will be civil war, an idea which has not occurred to anybody before," Sheikh Ahmad al-Samarra'i said. "Afterwards, what happened [the assassinations] has happened as if it was planned. Iraqis know the occupation forces. We do not put the ball in the court of any of the Iraqi brothers, however, we blame the occupation forces and the agents, whom the occupation forces helped to break up our ranks…The occupation forces want Iraqis to become preoccupied with sectarian conflicts, religious disputes, political wars, and personal rancor," he contended."

Document(s): original document

19.03.2004 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

FOUR SUNNI MOSQUES ATTACKED IN BAGHDAD ("original document") [ID 10255]

"Four Sunni mosques were attacked in the Iraqi capital over a 24-hour period from 10-11 March, Dubai's Al-Arabiyah television reported on 11 March. Two explosive charges were detonated at the entrance to two mosques, while worshippers were attacked with hand grenades at two other mosques in the city. "Our mosques are attacked daily with hand grenades, light machine guns, and even heavy machine guns," said Ahmad Abd al-Ghafur al-Samarra'i, spokesman for the Sunni Awqaf Office. At least two imams were also gunned down this week in Baghdad, Al-Arabiyah reported. The Iraqi Governing Council issued a statement on 12 March condemning the attacks, Voice of the Mujahedin radio reported on 12 March. "While we strongly denounce these criminal, cowardly acts against the houses of God and the faithful, we know very well that the aim is to shake the national unity and stir sedition," the statement read."

Document(s): original document

09.12.2003 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Bomb detonated inside sunni mosque ("Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline") [ID 10257]

"A bomb was apparently detonated inside a Sunni mosque in Baghdad on 9 December, Reuters reported. U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Frank German told reporters that the explosion occurred shortly after dawn, and appears to have come from inside the Ahbab Al-Mustafa mosque in central Baghdad. "When we arrived the flames had been extinguished, and we set up a security zone and began the investigations," German said. "As far as we can tell there was an internal explosion inside the mosque." One witness told Reuters he heard more than one explosion, and local residents claimed several people had died. Reuters subsequently reported that three people had been killed in the blast."

Document(s): Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline

05.09.2003 - Source: BBC News

Gunmen attack Baghdad mosque ("BBC World News: Gunmen attack Baghdad mosque") [ID 10258]

"Gunmen have shot at worshippers at a Sunni Muslim mosque in the Iraqi capital, injuring three people."

Document(s): BBC World News: Gunmen attack Baghdad mosque