BAGHDAD, March 3: Iraq's Shia leaders on Wednesday called for calm and urged their followers not be provoked into a civil war. In a statement on Tuesday, Ayatollah Sistani urged Iraqis not to let the day's bloodshed divide them.

Another Shia leader, Ayatollah Muddaresi, said: "There are parties and groups that are willing to push Iraq towards civil war, but I don't think it will happen because the first people who will lose will be those who are pushing for it."

Ayatollah Hadi al Muddaresi said the bombings were an attempt to foment civil war. "We as Shias refuse to be drawn into such a conflict." There were scenes of grief and anger at funerals in Baghdad and Kerbala but Shias said they would not seek revenge.

"Enemies of Shia Islam want to kill Shias and provoke civil strife," said Hussein Shammari, a man in his 50s mourning the loss of relatives in Tuesday's bloodshed in Kerbala. -Reuters