11 al-Qaeda elements captured in Karbala

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: Security forces arrested on Tuesday 11 al-Qaeda elements in Karbala, according to a security source. “Acting on intelligence information, security authorities arrested 11 al-Qaeda elements, who were planning to attack Shiite visitors coming to Karbala on Ashuraa occasion,” the source told IraqiNews.com news agency. Ashuraa is an occasion marking 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). Thousands of Shiite Muslims from all over Iraq and neighboring countries head to Imam Hussein’s tomb in Karbala as well as to Shiite shrines in other provinces to celebrate the occasion. Karbala lies 108 km southwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. SH (P) 23