Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq   

    BEIJING, June 13 (Xinhuanet) -- One day after U.S. and Iraqi forces raided a suspected Sunni militia headquarters in northern Iraq, insurgents on Wednesday blew up the two minarets of the Golden Dome Shiite shrine in Samarra, police and a security official said.

    The attack, which police said involved explosives, occurred around 9 a.m., despite a police presence at the site, officials said. There were no reports of casualties. It could not immediately be determined how the attackers evaded the guard force.

    Police in Samarra spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, and a security official in Baghdad confirmed the account on the same condition.

    A Feb. 22, 2006 explosion that destroyed the Askariya shrine's dome unleashed a wave of sectarian violence that bloodied Iraq for more than a year. The mosque compound and minarets had remained intact but closed after that bombing.

    The U.S. military headquarters in the area had no immediate information about Wednesday's attack.

    "We're only hearing initial reports ourselves, and we're looking into it," said Capt. Jennifer Nihill, a spokeswoman for Task Force Lightning.

    Northern Iraq has seen a recent rise in violence as militants have fled a nearly 4-month-old security crackdown in Baghdad.

    (Agencies)