Security plan in Karbala ahead of Shiite pilgrimage

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: A security plan supervised by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been put in place in Karbala province ahead of the Arbaeen pilgrimage. “The premier has allocated 200 million Iraqi dinars to provide water, fuel and food for visitors,” the governor of Karbala, Eng. Amal al-Din al-Hir said in a press conference in Karbala, which was attended by IraqiNews.com news agency. The governor added that an estimated 12 million pilgrims from inside and outside the country are expected to perform the 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. 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 Hijri 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. 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. SS (S)/SR 8