Shiite vs Sunni violence escalates...

Just when you think it can't get worse in Iraq, from today's Washington Post in Diyala province:

The province, a hotbed of insurgent activity by members of Iraq's Sunni Muslim Arab minority, was also the scene of an attack Friday night in which gunmen broke into two Shiite homes in a mainly Sunni village near the town of Balad Ruz, about 45 miles northeast of Baghdad, and abducted 21 men and boys in front of their relatives. The gunmen, wearing Iraqi army uniforms, blindfolded the victims, who ranged in age from 12 upward, and killed them with gunshots to the head and chest, Reuters news agency reported, quoting residents and security sources.

The slayings came after at least 87 people were killed or found dead across Iraq Friday in a spasm of violence following a barrage of car bombings and mortar fire Thursday in the sprawling Shiite district of Sadr City in the eastern part of the Iraqi capital. The attacks in Sadr City, carried out by suspected Sunni insurgents, left more than 200 Shiites dead and more than 250 others wounded.

In reprisal, suspected Shiite militiamen loyal to a firebrand anti-American cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, killed 25 Sunnis in attacks on homes and at least one mosque Friday in the mostly Shiite neighborhood of Hurriyah, the Associated Press reported. Police said militiamen burned and blew up four mosques and torched several homes in the neighborhood, AP reported. But the U.S. military said today that only one mosque had been set on fire and could not confirm reports that six Sunni civilians had been doused with kerosene and burned alive.

In one of a series of communiques today, the U.S. military said that an Iraqi army patrol investigating alleged mosque burnings in the Hurriyah neighborhood found that only the al-Nidaa mosque had been set on fire.

"The mosque sustained smoke and fire damage in the entryway but was not destroyed," the statement said. "The patrol was also unable to confirm media reports that six Sunni civilians were allegedly dragged out of Friday prayers and burned to death. Neither Baghdad police nor Coalition forces have reports of any such incident."

According to Reuters, a Sunni deputy prime minister, Salem al-Zobaie, had said four mosques and homes were attacked in the enclave in revenge for the Sadr City bombings.

It sounds like the Salem al-Zobaie is trying to incite even more problems if it is true as it appears that he is releasing exaggerated information...