Security plan in Karbala to protect Imam Ali pilgrims

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: Security forces will be deployed in Karbala as part of a plan to protect Shiite pilgrims commemorating the death anniversary of Imam Ali, the province’s police information chief said on Thursday. “Thousands of personnel from security agencies will be deployed in and outside Karbala to protect the pilgrims, expected to flow into the holy Shiite city in thousands,” Maj. Alaa Abbas told Iraqi News. “The plan also involves intensive campaigns in search of weapons in plantations and desert areas as the security agencies will be put on maximum alert,” he added. The night of Ramadan 21 coincides with the anniversary of the death of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Taleb, the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin, the fourth Orthodox Caliph and the top holiest figure for Shiite Muslims, who has been assassinated by Abdulrahman Ibn Muljam, one of the Kharijites (rebels), on Ramadan 19, 40 on the Muslim Hegira calendar at al-Kufa Mosque. AmR (P) 1