Curfew helps curb violence

Preachers at several mosques urged their followers to maintain calm.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Appeals from religious leaders and an unusual daytime curfew Friday curbed violence that claimed more than 140 lives across Iraq after the bombing of a Shiite shrine. President Bush joined in calling for calm, saying, "This is a moment of choosing for the Iraqi people."
Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari reached out to Sunnis and Shiites, promising to rebuild the Shiites' Askariya shrine in Samarra and Sunni mosques damaged in two days of reprisal attacks.
The daytime curfew kept most vehicles and pedestrians off the streets of Baghdad, preventing many people from reaching mosques for the main Muslim prayer service of the week but also blunting protests and preventing attacks.
People were allowed to walk to neighborhood mosques, many of which were guarded by heavily armed Iraqi police and soldiers. Preachers at several leading mosques urged their followers to maintain calm for the sake of the nation.
Sectarian anger
But sectarian anger remained high after Wednesday's destruction of a famed Shiite shrine, as did the threat of more violence.
The Iraqi government announced another daytime curfew for today in Baghdad and the surrounding provinces of Salaheddin, Babil and Diyala. And the U.S. military said it would carry out additional security patrols for an additional 48 hours.
Late Friday, two rockets were fired in a village southeast of Baghdad that includes a tomb revered by Shiites. There was no damage to the tomb, U.S. and Iraqi officials said. Two more rockets exploded in the British Embassy compound in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, causing minor injuries to two British workers, the U.S. military reported.
Police found at least 27 bodies Friday in Baghdad and other cities and towns.
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