"What is truly happening, and what shall happen, is clear: a war against the Shias," said Sheikh al-Saghir, a close ally of the Ayatollah, in a speech to the Iraqi parliament.

Ayatollah al-Sistani, whose continued tacit endorsement of Iraq's new government is vital to its existence, is said to be shocked by the string of deadly bombings that started last Wednesday when a crowd of children was attacked in east Baghdad.

That atrocity was followed by at least 10 bombings on Friday, before a suicide bomber blew up a fuel tanker in a crowded marketplace in Musaib, a mixed town south of Baghdad, killing nearly 100 people. Yesterday, a further 22 people were killed in four separate attacks in Baghdad. Six policemen and a government worker were shot dead today. Fonte.