The day of the attack al-Maliki asked Gen. David Petraeus, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker to send American reinforcements to Samarra, and to put U.S. troops in Baghdad on heightened alert. Both American officials issued a joint statement saying "This brutal action on one of Iraq's holiest shrines is a deliberate attempt by al-Qaeda to sow dissent and inflame sectarian strife among the people of Iraq." Petraeus told reporters that al-Qaeda's agents probably acted because they "are under a fair amount of pressure. I think they know that we are going to contest some of the areas in which they have had sanctuaries in the past."