Tens of thousands of Iraqi security forces have
deployed on Sunday in the Shiite holy city of Karbala for the climax of the Shiite religious rite of Ashura.
Hundreds of thousands of Shiite pilgrims from Iraq and other countries, including Iran,
converged in the city, some 110 km south of Baghdad, to commemorate Ashura, which marks
the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Mohammed, who was killed and buried in Karbala in 680 AD.
Iraqi authorities deployed more than 25,000 policemen and soldiers to set up eight cordons
around Karbala with dozens of checkpoints, according to General Ali Jassim,police chief of
Karbala city.
Iraqi security forces were also backed by helicopters to provide extra surveillance as well
as dogs trained to detect explosives, Jassim said.
Moreover, 600 female security members have also been deployed at the checkpoints to help checking women pilgrims, he added.
Mohammed al-Mossawi, head of Karbala provincial council, told Xinhua that 4,000 more
security members, who work undercover, have been deployed in the city to provide further security to the pilgrims after intelligence reports said that insurgents will likely carry out attacks
during the day.
Waving green, black and red flags, the black-clad pilgrims walked in processions through
the holy city. Some pilgrims beat their chests, performed self-flagellation with chains, or slashed their heads with swords letting blood streaming down their faces and bodies in honor
of Imam Hussein who was killed in the battle of Karbala in the seventh century.
Ashura, meaning "ten" in Arabic, takes place on the 10th day of Muharam, the first month in the Islamic lunar calendar.
Despite the security measures, insurgents frequently attack Shiite pilgrims many of whom
travelled on foot or by bus from Baghdad and other Iraqi cities to Karbala, killing and
wounding dozens of them.
The attacks could be seen as part of recent security deterioration which shaped a setback to the efforts of the Iraqi government to restore normalcy in the country ahead of the country's national polls next year.