Iraq's top Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has appealed for calm and called for a week of mourning. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said the country must work to avoid a civil war. In a television broadcast, Mr Talabani, a Sunni Kurd, accused the attackers of trying to sabotage attempts to form a coalition government. "We must... work together against... the danger of civil war," he said.