BAGHDAD, June 5 (UPI) -- Sectarian violence is building up in Iraq, where Sunni and Shiite religious symbols and sites are being constantly targeted.
A group of gunmen Monday blew up the mausoleum of Imam Dada Wali in the town of Beldruz, near the city of Baaqouba, east of Baghdad.
Security sources said the blast, which is part of the so-called "war on mosques and mausoleums," inflicted severe damage on the religious site, but caused no casualties.
The mausoleum is believed to be a Sunni symbol, mainly for Iraqi Kurds. The blast came a few days after two Sunni mosques were attacked in the Shiite city of Basra, in south Iraq, in which seven of the mosques' guards were killed.
In a related development, the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party, led by Deputy President Tareq Hashemi, accused what it called "the new infidels" of sending messages to the government implying that Basra will not be stable or secure until they control the oil fields in the south and gain political power.
In a statement, the party condemned the attack on the Sunni al-Arab mosque in downtown Basra Sunday night.
It called on the government to place Basra under the control of the Iraqi army, "even if that necessitates the deployment of units known to be accomplices of the death squads."
The party accused police and civilians in Basra of taking part in attacks on Sunni mosques.
It praised, however, the efforts undertaken by the government to calm matters in Basra, especially the visit by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to the city last week.
