NEW YORK, United States: Joining a chorus of United Nations officials led by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the head of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has decried the bombing of the Al-Askari shrine in the northern Iraqi city of Samarra.

"I strongly condemn this new attack against Samarra and call on Iraq's highest religious leaders and national authorities for calm and restraint to avoid further acts of sectarian violence," said UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura.

The holy shrine had already been seriously damaged by a bombing on 22 February 2006.
"Cultural and spiritual heritage is an irreplaceable source of life and inspiration and any attack against it is an attack against humanity and inter-religious understanding," said Mr. Matsuura.

The Director-General reiterated UNESCO's commitment to work with the Government of Iraq to protect and restore the historical, spiritual and cultural heritage of the Samarra shrine.

The holy Samarra shrine contains the tombs of the 10th and 11th imams - Ali al-Hadi (a.s.) who was martyred in 868 AD and his son Hassan al-Askari (a.s.), who was martyred in 874 AD, UNESCO said in a news release.

Mr. Ban, his envoy to Iraq Ashraf Qazi and members of the Security Council all denounced the bombing.