1st batch of Mosul pilgrims return home

NINEWA / IraqiNews.com: The first batch of Ninewa’s pilgrims arrived at Mosul airport on Saturday morning, according to an airport official. “The first batch of 107 pilgrims from Ninewa province arrived in the early hours of this morning,” Dareed Mohammed Basheer told IraqiNews.com. “Technical and security measures have been taken to receive the pilgrims,” Basheer added. Mosul, the capital city of Ninewa, lies 405 km north of Baghdad. The original city of Mosul stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient biblical city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial areas on both banks, with five bridges linking the two sides. Despite having an amount of Kurdish population, it does not form part of the area controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government Kurdistan RegionG). SS (P) 1