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Shi'ite pilgrims crowd Karbala
27/02/2008 07:15 - (SA)
Sinan Salaheddin
Baghdad - Processions of black-clad men flagellating themselves with chains to express grief at the martyrdom of a revered Shi'ite Muslim figure marched on Tuesday through the city of Karbala, as a national pilgrimage marred by deadly attacks neared its conclusion.
Shi'ites from all over Iraq have walked to Karbala, 80km south of Baghdad for Arbaeen.
The commemoration marks the end the mourning period following the anniversary of the death of Imam Hussein, who was slain in a seventh century battle and is buried in Karbala.
Iraqi and US authorities have said at least eight million pilgrims are expected to swell the streets of the city by the time the ceremonies reach their peak on Wednesday and Thursday.
With heavy security in the city, extremists have struck in recent days at more-exposed pilgrims on their way to Karbala. At least 63 pilgrims have been killed.
Police Chief Raid Shakir Jawdat has said 40 000 police officers and military troops are being deployed to prevent attacks, with patrols on the outskirts of the city guarding against rocket or mortar attacks and hundreds of snipers on tall buildings.
Soldiers patrolled
The US blamed Sunni-led al-Qaeda in Iraq on Monday for the sectarian attacks, the worst of which killed 56 and wounded scores of pilgrims.
Iraqi soldiers patrolled the streets, and an Iraqi Army armoured vehicle kept watch from a position fortified by blast walls and sandbags.
Major Shi'ite events have frequently been targeted in the past by suspected Sunni insurgents in their drive to stoke sectarian violence.
Meanwhile, a suicide bomber attacked a bus outside the northern city of Mosul, killing nine people and wounding three, the Iraqi army said.
The bus was loaded with about 45 passengers and heading for Syria when the explosion went off about 60 kilometres west of the city, said an army officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorised to release the information.
A preliminary report from the Iraqi army said that the suicide bomber ordered the bus driver to take a route away from the highway to dodge army check points.
The US military, however, had a substantially different account of the bombing. It said the attack occurred at a routine checkpoint where the Iraqi Army was searching passengers for their identity cards.
After the bomber exited the bus, he detonated a suicide vest, the military said.
- AP
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