Special Security Plan in Iraq for Mourning Ritual
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iraqi security forces have implemented a special plan to ensure the safety of the pilgrims who are flocking to the shrine of the seventh Shiite Imam, Musa al-Kadhim (AS), for mourning rituals marking the revered Imam’s martyrdom anniversary, Iraqi source said.
According to Al Iraqiya TV, the pilgrims, many of them on foot, are travelling to Kadhimiya, north of Baghdad, to observe the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Kadhim (AS), which falls on Tuesday.
Imam Musa al-Kadhim, the seventh of the 12 Imams revered in Shiite Islam, was martyred in 799 AD. The commemoration has in recent years turned into a huge event that brings the Iraqi capital to a standstill for days.
In the meantime, Iraq’s Interior Ministry Spokesman Saad Maan said at least 25,000 foreign pilgrims have entered Iraq over the past two days for pilgrimage.
The tight security comes amid sporadic bomb blasts in Iraq, carried out mainly by the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group.
On Saturday, a car bomb targeted Shiite pilgrims in an area near Baghdad, killing at least 14 people and wounding at least 25, according to security and medical officials.
The bomb was left on a road in the Nahrawan area used by Shiite pilgrims going to the shrine of Imam Kadhim (PBUH).
