Iraq and UNESCO have agreed on the reconstruction of the mosque in Samarra

Amman - Representatives of the Iraqi government and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today signed an agreement in Jordan’s Amman for the reconstruction of the Golden Mosque in the northern Iraqi city of Samarra, which is one of the holiest pilgrimage sites for Shia Muslims. The mosque was severely damaged by a bomb attack on June 13.
    "The first phase of restoration will last ten months and will cost 8.4 million dollars," said Iraqi government spokesman Ali Dabbagh at a joint press conference with UNESCO representative in Iraq Mohamed Djelid.
    This first phase will be jointly financed by the UN and the Iraqi government, Dabbagh said, adding that work on the mosque's repairs should begin as soon as the security situation in the city improves. The second phase of reconstruction is expected to be funded by donations from private companies and the Iraqi people.
    In the June attack, which was another in a series of manifestations of sectarian violence in Iraq, the shrine lost a pair of its characteristic slender minarets. However, the monument had been damaged before; in February 2006, the upper part of the famous six-meter golden dome of the Askárí mausoleum in the mosque complex also collapsed during a bomb attack.