Missan sends three wounded in Karbala blasts for treatment in Iran

MISSAN / IraqiNews.com: The province of Missan has sent three persons that had been wounded during last week’s deadly Karbala blasts that overshadowed the holy Shiite Imam al-Hussein’s arbaeen pilgrimage, a local civil society official said. “The condition of the three persons, who had been wounded in the blasts that took place near the Technical Institute in Freiha area, (7 km) east of Karbala, is critical and need complicated surgeries,” Ahmed al-Allaq, the Missan civil society organizations coordinator, told IraqiNews.com news agency. The Freiha blast left 23 pilgrims killed and 147 others wounded, mostly women and children. Four of the deaths were local residents of Amara, in addition to 18 others wounded. “Eighteen wounded persons had been sent from the Karbala hospitals to Amara’s. Most of them are already out of the hospital with the exception of critical cases that need intensive care,” Allaq added. Amara, the capital city of Missan province, lies 390 km south of Baghdad. The arbaeen pilgrimage is a religious occasion marking 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). Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from inside and outside Iraq were flowing on foot into the city for the holy rituals. 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. AmR (S) 2