Syria deplores attacks on holy Shiite shrine in Iraq

Syria condemned the bombing of a holy Shiite shrine in Iraq on Wednesday as "heinous criminal attacks," the official SANA news agency reported.

"The offender attack of the holy shrines, mosques and religious institutions is an act aimed at raising sedition in Iraq and tearing up its national unity," SANA quoted an official source assaying.

"Syria, while assuring its pain for the criminal incidents and its condemnation, calls upon the sisterly Iraqi people to keep unity during this critical condition," the source said.

Iraqi Shiite Muslim leader Muqtada al-Sadr, meanwhile, called on the Iraqi people to maintain solidarity in order to foil attempts to inflame sedition.

"We urge the Iraqis to be up to the level of responsibility... to keep Iraq's unity and safety," Sadr told a press conference in Damascus on his way back to Iraq after a visit to Lebanon. Sadr also urged a full withdrawal of the occupation forces from Iraq under a fixed time table.

Earlier Wednesday, the holy Shiite mosque of Ali al-Hadi in Samarra, which contains tombs of the 10th and 11th of the Shiite's twelve most revered Imams, was hit by a powerful bomb blast with its golden dome badly damaged.

Tens of thousands of Shiites took to the streets in Iraqi cities including Baghdad, Samarra, Najaf and Karbala in protestagainst the attack.

In reaction to the incident, eight Sunni mosques in Baghdad came under attack, further escalating the sectarian tension.