Samra firing causes damage to holy Shrines of Askeriyain (p)

By: Ismail Zabeeh

SAMRA, Iraq: The US military on Monday upped its death toll in the Iraqi city of Samra to 54 amid reports that eight civilians were martyred during exchange of heavy firing between US army and Iraqi insurgents which caused damage to the holy Shrines of Prophet Muhammad (p)’s 10th and 11th infallible descendants Al-Imam Ali An-Naqi (p) and Al-Imam Hasan Al-Askeri (p).

The city of Samra possesses very important status in Islamic World as besides the holy shrines of Askeriyain (p), the site of occultation of the 12th infallible descendant of Prophet Muhammad (p), Al-Imam Mahdi bin Hasan Al-Askeri (p), is housed here.

The eight civilians martyred include a woman and a child. More than 60 people were also wounded during the firing. According to American troops some among 54 guerrillas were wearing the uniform of Saddam Hussein's feared Fedayeen militia.

Talking to a foreign news agency, local hospital director Abed Tawfiq said that there were so many casualties from US fire during their intense clashes with insurgents that they had had to be treated in the hospital's corridors.

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