The shrine of the Two Imams in Samarra, Iraq, was bombed on February 22, 2006, “at the hands of extremists linked to al-Qaeda. …It was one of the four ‘atabats (thresholds) in Iraq, and the destination of millions of pious Shi’a pilgrims. Sunnis also venerated the shrine and visited it in large numbers. The news of the bombings of the shrine which made its magnificent golden dome collapse, spread very quickly. Within a few hours, Shi’a militias were on the streets, and in a paroxysm of violence and rage nearly 1,300 people, the majority of whom were Sunni Arabs, were killed in immediate retaliation.”
– Ali A. Allawi, The Occupation of Iraq, Pages 443-444