Private vehicle owners urged to transport pilgrims

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi cabinet on Monday called on owners of private vehicles to help transport pilgrims back home from the holy city of Karbala, after the end of the Shiite Arbaeen pilgrimage, according to the semi-official al-Iraqiya TV station. The Arbaeen pilgrimage, which falls today, 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). Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from inside and outside Iraq have started the long trek on foot for the Arbaeen pilgrimage. Tight security measures have been in force and a large number of security personnel have been deployed in Iraq’s holy sites in preparation for the occasion. Karbala, said to be housing the tombs of Imam al-Hussein and his brother Imam al-Abbas, lies 130 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. MH (P) / SS 1