By IANS
Amman : Iraq and UNESCO have inked an agreement on reconstructing the holy Muslims shrines damaged in two bomb blasts in the Iraqi city of Samarra.
The agreement was signed by representatives of the Iraqi government and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the Iraqi embassy in Amman, reported Iranian news agency Irna Monday.
The shrines of Imams Ali al-Naqi and Hassan al-Askariya in Samarra were hit on June 13. According to reports one of the four minarets of the two shrines collapsed and another was partly damaged in the explosion.
The shrines had earlier been attacked on February 22, 2006.
Ali Dabagh, the Iraqi government spokesman, told a press conference after signing the agreement that the first phase of the reconstruction operation, which is to begin soon, would last 10 months. The first phase would cost US$8.4 million, he added.