30,000 security personnel in Karbala ahead of Arbaeen visit

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: A total of 30,000 security personnel, in addition to snipers and a large number of intelligence agents have been deployed in Karbala city ahead of the Arbaeen visit, scheduled to take place on Monday. “The city has been divided into three sections…,” Karbala police chief, Staff Maj. Gen. Ali Jassem Mohammed, told IraqiNews.com news agency. “Closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) have been installed in different parts of the province,” the official noted, adding that police dogs will also be used for security checks. The Arbaeen is a religious occasion marking the 40 th day after the death of Imam al-Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson and the third holiest figure for Shiite Muslims, in the battle of Taf in Karbala in the Hijri year 61 (680 in the Gregorian calendar). Karbala, said to be housing the tombs of Imam al-Hussein and his brother Imam al-Abbas, lies 110 km southwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. SS (P) 1