" Baghdadi’s city " which sparked a sectarian war .. Why does not ISIS put it in its priority?

, but has the most important religious sacred shrines to Shiite Muslims.

The bombing of the shrine in 2006 has raised a sectarian violence in Iraq that claimed the lives of tens of thousands on sectarian identity .

Samarra is surrounded by and dozens of towns and areas occupied by ISIS through its relentless attack on the tenth of last June, and its control over most of the north and west of the country.

The militants then stopped at the borders of Samarra, although they have stormed the city before that date by five days and withdrew after only a few hours, which was interpreted by observers later that it was a tactic to distract the attention of the security leaders while extremists are preparing to control Mosul.

Many specialists in military affairs see ISIS moves as conducted with high accuracy and plans that are not known but by its leaders.

The security expert who worked in Samarra for years says to "Shafaq News" that "the organization knows very well the sanctity of Samarra for Sunnis and Shiite, but it is not stepping this step because it would move the Shiite street in the whole world under the pretext of protection of holy sites and will push Sunnis into the abyss and that is something that ISIS does not want now."

The expert, who asked for anonymity said "the people of Samarra did not embrace the organization and did not give them banquet and food as the rest of the cities that have been occupied in Iraq, which makes him feel that there is no place for this organization in Samarra."

He believes that "the security interest by the Iraqi government and the city's harsh response that accompanied storming Samarra on 5th of June had influenced ISIS”.

The expert concluded his speech by saying "Samarra is trouble for anyone who wants something bad to happen in it.".

At the field level ,Samarra looks more like a military barracks since mid-June, where the popular crowd forces and tribal fighters are scattered in addition to the forces of the federal police and the army.

“Shafaq News” Reporter observed when he walk around in the vicinity of Ali al-Hadi shrine in the city center . the presence of Lebanese and the Iranians fighters who have joined the fight against ISIS under the banner of the protection of sacred religious shrines to Shiites.

But the outskirts of the city is witnessing continuous unrest and battles between ISIS militants and the government troops and its supporting forces.

The city's calmness was not violated but by only car bombs that exploded on the sides of the roads recently, but without recording casualties among civilians or security forces.

A Lebanese fighter wandering in al- bank street, (one of the markets surrounding the ancient Samarra shrine) and identified himself as Syed Tariq for "Shafaq News" that he came from Lebanon after months of returning from Syria to defend the holy shrines in Samarra.

He said, "We will not allow ISIS or any other group to reach the sanctities", pointing out that” he came to Samarra not for sectarian motives or fight the population, but for the protection of religious shrines only.

The majority of city residents who belong to the Sunni tribes consider that "the forces of the crowd inside the city better that those outside it“.

Issa Hammoud, one of the residents of Samarra and owns a shop in al-Qadisiyah Street told “Shafaq News" that "the fighters of the popular crowd inside Samarra are better than outside it and we are with anyone who works for the city. Do not want the fate of Mosul , Fallujah or Tikrit as all the inhabitants of those areas have lost many things" .

He was able to open his shop, which sells food items and continued his life as normal in Samarra, but adds "if ISIS entered Samarra , we will lose everything ."

Hamoud remembers some individuals from al-Salam brigades , led by the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, one of the factions of the popular crowd that distributed dates to the population as soon as they entered the city to gain the trust of the people of the city and give them the impression that they are not enemies but friends.

The largest military build-up of military, police and Shiites volunteers are stationed in Samarra in anticipation of the arrival of ISIS terrorists to the sacred Shiite shrine which contains the tombs of Imam Ali al-Hadi and his son Hasan al-Askari (PBUT), which could drag the country into an open sectarian war.

ISIS Sunni militants deliberate to blow up religious shrines regardless of whether they belongs to Sunnis or Shiites or other religions according to their perception of the extremist Islamic law.

It seems that ISIS didn’t put the city as a priority at the current stage, although it has struggled to raise sectarianism in Iraq in order to find a foothold, especially after the defeat of their ancestors of al-Qaeda by Sunni tribal , American and Iraqi forces.

Samarra is the birthplace of ISIS leader , Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who lived , studied and played football game in it.

Ghazwan Hassan, a journalist said to “Shafaq News" that " storming Samarra will lead to sectarian implications in Baghdad and the southern regions, which would weaken the organization and its image form its followers of Sunnis there so ISIS does not try to storm it."