New commander for Karbala operations

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: A new commander will take over Karbala operations, succeeding the province’s police chief, Maj. Gen. Raed Shakir Jawdat, a senior source said on Thursday. “On Thursday, Maj. Gen. Othman al-Ghanimi assumed the command of Karbala operations,” an informed source from Karbala province told IraqiNews.com. The source did not provide further details of the reasons behind the decision. The source added that Maj. Gen. Jawdat will maintain his post as the police chief of the province. Maj. Gen. Jawdat was appointed as the commander of the province’s operations following the outbreak of violent incidents that coincided with al-Ziyara al-Shaabaniya (The mid-Shaaban visit) in August 2007. 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, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad by his daughter Fatima al-Zahraa and Ali Ibn Abi Taleb. Imam Hussein’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. SS (S) 1