Iraqi Shiite alliance warns of civil war

Iraq's ruling Shiite alliance warned Monday that the attack on a Shiite mosque in northeastern Baghdad could spark civil war.

"The attack on the Mustafa mosque last night is aimed at igniting a civil war which only serves political purposes," the Shiite bloc said in a statement, urging the Iraqi government to rapidly investigate the incident.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military denied direct involvement in Sunday night raid on a "terrorist cell" that left at least 16 people killed by Iraqi special forces.

"Iraqi Special Operations Forces conducted a twilight raid in the Adhamiyah neighborhood in northeast Baghdad to disrupt a terrorist cell responsible for staging attacks on Iraqi Security and Coalition Forces and kidnapping Iraqi civilians in the local area," the U.S. military said in a statement.

The US military said it played an advisory role in the attack, adding "no mosques were entered or damaged during this operation."

Iraqi police sources said that twenty-five bodies were found in the Shiite mosque after the U.S. troops clashed with militia loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr on Sunday night.

Source: Xinhua