Ashuraa attack foiled in Karbala

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: Two al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) operatives planning attacks during an upcoming Shiite pilgrimage were arrested at a checkpoint in northern Karbala, a local police chief said on Saturday. “A few days ago, we received intelligence tips about an AQI plan to attack pilgrims during the Ashuraa visit (10 th day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar),” Maj. Gen. Ali Jassem Mohammed al-Ghariri said today during a press conference in Karbala city attended by IraqiNews.com news agency. Investigations are currently underway, Ghariri noted, providing no further details. Karbala, with an estimated population of 572,300 people in 2003, is the capital of the province and is considered to be one of Shiite Muslims’ holiest cities. The city, 110 km south of Baghdad, is one of Iraq’s wealthiest, profiting both from religious visitors and agricultural produce, especially dates. It is made up of two districts, “Old Karbala,” the religious centre, and “New Karbala,” the residential district containing Islamic schools and government buildings. At the centre of the old city is Masjid al-Hussein, the tomb of Hussein Ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad by his daughter Fatima al-Zahraa and Ali Ibn Abi Taleb. Imam Hussein’s tomb is a place of pilgrimage for many Shiite Muslims, especially on the anniversary of the battle, the Day of Ashuraa. Many elderly pilgrims travel there to await death, as they believe the tomb to be one of the gates to paradise. On April 14, 2007, a car bomb exploded about 600 ft (200 m) from the shrine, killing 47 and wounding over 150. SS (S) 1