The 2007 al-Askari mosque bombing (Arabic: ) occurred on 13 June 2007 at around 9 am local time at one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, the al-Askari Mosque, and has been attributed by Iran to the Iraqi Baath Party. While there were no injuries or deaths reported, the mosque's two ten-story minarets were destroyed in the attacks. This was the second bombing of the mosque, with the first bombing occurring on 22 February 2006 and destroying the mosque's golden dome.
By April 2009, both minarets had been repaired.
Al-Askari Shrine, the 'Askariyya Shrine (Arabic: مَرْقَد ٱلْإِمَامَيْن عَلِيّ ٱلْهَادِي وَٱلْحَسَن ٱلْعَسْكَرِيّ, Marqad al-ʾImāmayn ʿAlīy al-Hādī wal-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarīy, meaning "Resting Place of the Two Imams Ali al-Hadi and Hassan the al-Askari") or the Al-Askari Mosque is a Shia Muslim mosque and mausoleum in the Iraqi city of Samarra 125 km (78 mi) from Baghdad. It is one of the most important Shia shrines in the world. It was built in 944. The dome was destroyed in a bombing by extremists in February 2006 and its two remaining minarets were destroyed in another bombing in June 2007, causing widespread anger among Shias. The remaining clock tower was also destroyed in July 2007. The dome and minarets were repaired and the mosque reopened in April 2009.The 10th and 11th Shī'ite Imams, 'Alī al-Hādī ("an-Naqī") and his son Hasan al-'Askarī, known as al-'Askariyyayn ("the two 'Askarīs"), are buried in the shrine. Housed in the mosque are also the tombs of Hakimah Khātūn, sister of 'Alī al-Hādī; and Narjis Khātūn, the mother of Muħammad al-Mahdī. Adjacent to the mosque is another domed commemorative building, the Serdab ("cistern"), built over the cistern where the Twelfth Imam, Muħammad al-Mahdī, first entered the Minor Occultation or "hidden from the view"—whence the other title of the Mahdi, the Hidden Imam.
2007Jun, 13
The Al Askari Mosque is bombed for a second time.
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Events on 2007
- 9Jan
IPhone
Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduces the original iPhone at a Macworld keynote in San Francisco. - 29Jun
IPhone
Apple Inc. releases its first mobile phone, the iPhone. - 12Jul
July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrike
U.S. Army Apache helicopters perform airstrikes in Baghdad, Iraq; footage from the cockpit is later leaked to the Internet. - 4Aug
Phoenix (spacecraft)
NASA's Phoenix spacecraft is launched. - 18Sep
Saffron Revolution
Buddhist monks join anti-government protesters in Myanmar, starting what some call the Saffron Revolution.