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A revered Shia shrine was bombed twice, toppling its dome then minarets
A 2007 bombing destroyed the al-Askari Mosque's two ten-story minarets, a year after a first blast brought down its golden dome.
The al-Askari Mosque is one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, which made it a deliberate target. A first bombing in February 2006 destroyed the mosque's iconic golden dome.
Roughly a year later, in June 2007, attackers struck again at around 9 am local time, this time toppling the mosque's two ten-story minarets. No injuries or deaths were reported in the second attack.
Iran attributed the bombing to the Iraqi Baath Party.
Why it mattersAttacks on a site this sacred were designed to inflame sectarian tension across Iraq, far beyond the physical damage.
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