BAGHDAD (AP) – At least three Sunni mosques were attacked south of the capital Thursday, police said, in apparent retaliation for the destruction of two minarets at the Shiite Askariya shrine in Samarra a day earlier.

Wednesday’s attack, which was blamed on Sunni extremists with links to Al Qaeda, stoked fears of a surge in violence between Muslim sects. A bombing at the same mosque complex in February 2006 that destroyed the shrine’s prized golden dome unleashed a bloodbath of reprisals.

Police said four Sunni mosques near Baghdad were attacked or burned within several hours of the Samarra explosions Wednesday.

One of those Sunni mosques, which was only partially destroyed, came under attack again Thursday, police said. Around 4 a.m., insurgents broke into the Hateen mosque in Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of Baghdad, and planted bombs inside.

Flames from a huge explosion destroyed most of the building, and a woman and child in a nearby apartment were wounded, an Iskandariyah police officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

Gunmen also tried to storm the nearby al-Mustafa mosque early Thursday, and exchanged fire with guards before Iraqi soldiers arrived and stopped them, police said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

In Mahaweel, 35 miles south of Baghdad, gunmen opened fire on the al-Basheer mosque at dawn, police said. They forced guards to leave the mosque, then set fire to it, a local police officer said on the same condition of anonymity. The building was partially damaged, he said.

Also Thursday, police in Basra said four people were killed and six wounded in attacks on Sunni mosques there a day earlier. The attacks on the Kawaz, Othman, al-Abayshi and Basra Grand mosques all involved rocket-propelled grenades and left the buildings only partially damaged, police said. Basra is Iraq’s second-largest city, located 340 miles southeast of Baghdad.

The mosque contains the tombs of the 10th and 11th imams – Ali al-Hadi, who died in 868, and his son Hassan al-Askari, who died in 874. Both are descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, and Shiites consider them to be among his successors.

The shrine also is near the place where the 12th imam, Mohammed al-Mahdi, disappeared. Al-Mahdi, known as the “hidden imam,” was the son and grandson of the two imams buried in the Askariya shrine. Shiites believe he will return to Earth to restore justice to humanity.