Mosques sprayed with bullets in Iraq

Gunmen attacked two Sunni mosques today in Baghdad, fanning Iraq’s sectarian crisis, as US military officials confirmed three more US Marines died in action in separate attacks in western Iraq.

Men in two BMWs sprayed gunfire at the Muhammad Rassulluallah mosque shortly after midnight, shattering its windows and damaging its walls, police said. One mosque guard was injured.

One hour later, gunmen stormed into the Ashra al-Mubashara mosque, but fled when Iraqi police arrived, officials said.

Sunni-Shiite violence has escalated in recent months, with Sunni radicals - including members of al Qaida – and Shiite militias staging tit-for-tat killings. Thousands from both sects have fled the country, according to Iraqi officials.

The Marines died on Thursday in western Anbar province, a focal point of the Sunni-dominated insurgency. A US statement today said they were attached to the army’s 1st Armoured Division, which operates in Ramadi, but gave no further details.

A statement issued yesterday said another Marine from Regimental Combat Team 5 was also killed on Thursday in Anbar.

Their deaths brought the number of US service members who have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003 to at least 2,573, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians.

Also today, six day labourers were wounded when a bomb exploded in Baghdad’s Tayaran Square, where the workers had gathered to wait for job offers.

The attacks came a day after the head of the biggest Shiite party called for a greater security role for Iraqis rather than Americans. The call by Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim is in contrast to US plans o add more American soldiers on the streets of Baghdad to try to curb the surge in sectarian violence.

The US plan calls for moving up to 5,000 additional American troops with armoured vehicles and tanks into Baghdad. Some critics believe the move will undermine confidence among Iraqi forces and expose more US soldiers to attacks by Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias.

Al-Hakim, the former commander of the feared Badr Brigade militia, has long complained that the Americans have interfered with Iraqi forces’ efforts to crack down on Sunni insurgents and al Qaida in Iraq terrorists.

He said the surging violence was due to “being lax in hunting down terrorists and upholding the wrong policies in dealing with them.”