Slain Qaeda leader behind pivotal 2006 Iraq blast -US

BAGHDAD, Aug 5 (Reuters) US forces said today that an al Qaeda leader killed in Iraq was behind a 2006 attack on a Shi'ite shrine that sparked sectarian violence across the country and is considered a major turning point in the conflict.

The February 2006 attack on the al-Askari shrine in Samarra triggered tit-for-tat violence between Shi'ites and Sunni Arabs that has killed tens of thousands of people.

Military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Garver said Haitham al-Badri, killed by US forces on August 2 east of Samarra, was responsible for that attack as well as a second attack on the same shrine in June this year.

''He was behind both attacks,'' Garver said.

In the first attack in February 2006 bombers destroyed the mosque's famed golden dome, while in June this year they brought down its minarets.

US forces yesterday blamed Badri for the second attack on the shrine without mentioning the pivotal first attack.

Garver said the military would reveal more about the operation that killed Badri later today.

Iraq's national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, confirmed that Iraq's government blamed Badri for both attacks.

Police said Badri was killed in the town of Banat al-Hasan, 5 km east of Samarra. Another police source said he died in a US air strike.

Members of Badri's family said he was buried in Samarra on Friday.

REUTERS SZ BD1334