Flashpoint: Samarra's al-Askari Mosque

Samarra's al-Askari Mosque contains the mausoleums of two Shia Imams, making it a key pilgrimage point and one of the most significant sites of worship for Shia worldwide. The bombing of the mosque in 2006 set off a vicious cycle of violence… ISIS follows a deeply puritanical Sunni thread of Islam that believes shrines are antithetical to Islam and should be destroyed — a practice they have carried out in areas they control in Syria. ISIS has tried to take control of Samarra. But it's been forced back by a coalition of the Iraqi Army and Shiite militias which now guard the shrine and the city. This has not stopped ISIS' from lobbing mortars at the shrine in an attempt to demolish it…. (From Jun 24)