Bill Roggio rounds up news and analysis of the twin bombings of the al-Askaria mosque’s remaining minarets this morning in Samarra. John Burns at the NYTimes reports on efforts to avert sectarian reprisals:

[A]fter Wednesday’s renewed attack on the shrine at Samarra, 75 miles north of Baghdad, appeals for calm by Shiite political and religious leaders, as well as by moderate Sunni politicians and the top two American officials in Iraq, appeared to have headed off the risk of a new sectarian convulsion, at least for now.

By nightfall, with emergency curfews in Baghdad and several other cities, and Iraqi forces moving in to protect mosques across the country, there were only scattered reports of reprisal attacks.

Roggio warns aptly: “Al Qaeda, Muqtada al Sadr and other elements looking to incite further violence will manufacture incidents as part of their sophisticated Information Operations. But fallout from the bombing of the al-Askaria mosque should be expected.”

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