Under The Curfews
On the day of the bombing an indefinite curfew was placed on Samarra by the Iraqi police. Samarra's streets were emptied by mid-afternoon after the arrival of more police and American troops. For the remainder of the day Iraqi security forces patrolled Samarra "firing in the air and announcing the curfew from loudspeakers mounted on jeeps. ...Members of the Iraqi security forces, which are dominated by Shiites, yelled threats at Samarra residents, blaming them for the destruction of the mosque and threatening revenge. Some citizens, meanwhile, hurled remarks back, asking how anyone could destroy the minarets when the entire religious complex was being so carefully guarded by Iraqi security forces."
Beginning at 3 p.m. of the same day, a curfew was also placed on vehicle traffic and large gatherings in the capital Baghdad. The Baghdad curfew had originally been set to expire on Saturday 16 June 2007, it was lifted at 5 a.m. (0100 GMT) on Sunday 17 June.
Read more about this topic: 2007 Al-Askari Mosque Bombing