The Al-Askari Mosque

Samarra's Al-Askari (Golden) Mosque before the February 22, 2006, bombing (courtesy photo) - The Iraqi city of Samarra is the site of two major Shi'ite shrines. Consecrated in 852, the Golden Mosque is said to hold the remains of two Shi'ite imams: Ali al-Naqi and his son, Hasan al-Askari.

Security forces guard the mosque following the February 2006 bombing that destroyed the golden dome (epa) - A second shrine marks the place where the hidden -- or 12th -- imam, al-Mahdi, son of Hasan, went into hiding.

The Al-Askari Mosque shortly after the February 2006 bombing (epa) - Imam Ali and his son, Hasan, were imprisoned in Samarra, the capital of the Abbasid Dynasty, by Al-Mutawakkil Ala Allah Jafar bin al-Mu'tasim (821-861), who is considered the last great Abassid caliph.

The damaged dome in February 2006 (epa) - According to historical accounts, al-Mutawakkil felt threatened by the growing influence of Shi'ite Islam and Imam al-Naqi, who was based in Medina.

Dust rising from the mosque after the June 13, 2007, attack that brought down both minarets (Fars) - Al-Mutawakkil thus brought Imam Ali and Hasan to Samarra in 848 and imprisoned them inside a military fort. Henceforth they became known as al-Askari (military) because of the location of their imprisonment.

The damaged mosque on June 13 (Fars) - Following al-Mutawakkil's death in 861, his successor had Imam Ali poisoned in 868. Hasan died in 874.

The damaged mosque on June 13 (Fars) - Imam Ali al-Naqi -- the 10th Shi'ite imam, commonly referred to as Imam Ali al-Hadi -- and his son, Hasan al-Askari, the 11th imam, are buried under the Golden Dome, which was a gift from Persian ruler Nasr al-Din Shah (1848-96).

Locals visit the ruined mosque on June 13 (Fars) - The dome's construction was completed in 1905. Also buried in the shrine are Hakimah Khatun, the sister of Imam Ali, and Nargis Kahtun, Imam al-Mahdi's mother.

A Samarra man visits the mosque shortly after the June 13 attack (Fars) - The second shrine in the complex marks the place where Shi'a believe Imam al-Mahdi (b. 868), the 12th and final imam, went into hiding.

The Al-Askari Mosque on June 13 (Fars) - According to Shi'ite tradition, Imam al-Mahdi, the son of Hasan al-Askari, descended into a cellar under the present-day shrine and disappeared. Shi'a believe he never died and that he will return on Judgment Day.

An aerial view of the Al-Askari Mosque following the June 13 bombing (Fars) - The February 2006 attack on the mosque set off a wave of sectarian violence that left thousands dead across the country and brought Iraq to the brink of civil war.