Mass grave found in western Karbala

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi national guards found 22 unknown bodies in a mass grave in western Karbala, a well-known source said on Wednesday. “The 4th battalion of the Iraqi national guards found a mass grave containing 22 unidentified bodies in western Baghdad after receiving intelligence information,” the source told IraqiNews.com. “The bodies belongs to civilians seem to be killed by gunmen months ago,” he added. “The corpses were sent to the forensic medicine department,” he noted. In July 2007, gunmen, wearing police uniform, kidnapped 22 shepherds in al-Rafeea region in north of Karbala. 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, grandsone of the Prophet Muhammad by his daughter Fatima al-Zahraa and Ali Ibn Abi Taleb. Imam Hussien’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. SH (S) 1