No newspapers in Baghdad as Arbaeen comes

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: No newspapers were published in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Sunday as preparations are underway by Muslim Shiites to revive the Arbaeen pilgrimage on Monday. The holy Shiite city of Karbala has been witnessing a religious festivity termed by observed as the largest in the country as more than five million pilgrims have already arrived and still hundreds of thousands others are flowing on foot for the Arbaeen . The Arbaeen marks the 40th 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 Hegira year 61 (680 in the Gregorian calendar). Tight security measures have been in place and a large number of security personnel have been deployed in Iraq’s holy sites in preparation for the occasion. Karbala, said to house the tombs of Imam al-Hussein and his brother Imam al-Abbas, lies 130 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. AmR (P)/SR 1