{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"","title":"Iraq War - Part 4: Sectarian violence shatters Iraq and the surge begins","description":"Before dawn on February twenty-second, two thousand six, a bomb destroyed the golden dome of the al-Askari Mosque in Samarra. The explosion shattered glass, scattered tiles, and sent shockwaves across Iraq. This sacred Shi’a shrine was now a ruin—and the true devastation was just beginning.\r\n\r\nNews of the attack spread like wildfire. Baghdad’s skies filled with black smoke as mosques burned in reprisal. Death squads roamed the streets after dark, their presence marked by screeching tires and sudden gunfire. Civilians vanished at checkpoints, kidnapped or killed for their name or their address. Morgues overflowed. Grieving mothers searched for missing sons, while fathers stood silent, numb with loss. Concrete walls divided Baghdad into enclaves bristling with suspicion and fear.\r\n\r\nLearn more at: https://theconflictarchive.com/conflict/iraq-war","author_name":"The Archive Network"}