Sunday in Iraq & Neighboring Countries

"Iraq is a divided country, with Sunni, Shia and Kurdish factions that share both bitter rivalries and access to large quantities of arms. Anti-American feelings will surely be inflamed among the misguided who choose to see an assault on Iraq as an attack on Islam, or as a means of controlling Iraqi oil. And last week's tape by Osama bin Laden tells us that our enemies will seek relentlessly to transform a war into a tool for inspiring and recruiting more terrorists."
-Howard Dean, speaking at Drake University on February 17, 2003

Iraqi medics rush a wounded civilian into a local hospital in the city of Baquba, northeast of Baghdad. At least 13 Iraqis and two US soldiers were killed in a series of rebel attacks even as security forces kept a tight grip on Baghdad to quell sectarian violence unleashed this week. (AFP/Ali Yussef)

A child injured in a bomb explosion is brought to the hospital in Hillah, a predominantly Shiite city about 95 kilometers (60 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Feb. 26, 2006. A bomb exploded as passengers were boarding at a crowded bus station Sunday morning injuring five, police reported. A 24-hour vehicular ban remained in effect in Baghdad and it's suburbs as authorities tried to halt the violence that has claimed nearly 200 lives since the Shiite Askariya shrine was destroyed Wednesday in Samara. (AP Photo/Alaa Al-Marjani)

An Iraqi father takes her daughter for a stroll as the curfew was relaxed for few hours, in Baqouba, 60 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad,Iraq, Sunday, Feb.26, 2006. Bomb blasts and gunfire killed at least seven people, including two U.S. soldiers, in Baghdad and south of the capital Sunday. A 24-hour vehicular ban remained in effect in Baghdad and it's suburbs as authorities tried to halt the violence that has claimed nearly 200 lives since the Shiite Askariya shrine was destroyed Wednesday in Samarra. (AP Photo/Mohammed Adan)

A Pakistani Shi'ite Muslim holds a placard during a rally in Karachi February 26, 2006. The rally was held to denounce the bombing of the Golden Mosque in Iraq and to protest against the publication of cartoons and caricatures depicting the Prophet Mohammad in European newspapers. REUTERS/Zahid Hussein

Iranian protesters shout anti-Britain slogans during a protest in Tehran, Iran February 26, 2006. More than 1,200 conservative students angered by the destruction of a Shi'ite Muslim shrine in Iraq hurled petrol bombs, stones and eggs at the British embassy in Tehran on Sunday. (REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl)

Shiite boys beat themselves on their chests during a demonstration in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Feb. 26, 2006. Thousands of Turkish Shiite Muslims gathered in an Istanbul neighborhood to protest attacks on the Shiite shrines in Iraq. Demonstrators dispersed peacefully. (AP Photo/Osman Orsal)