Karbala, December 28: Iraqi security forces have defused nine bombs across the war-torn country as millions of Muslims observed the holy day of Ashura.
According to Iraqi security forces, terrorists had a plan to target visitors and even put several IEDs (improvised explosive devices) on the main road to Karbala, which is the focal point of the ceremony of Ashura, which is the anniversary of the martyrdom of the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Imam Hussein (PBUH).
Police stepped up security in Iraq to prevent attacks against Shias. A curfew was slapped on Baghdad and 10 Iraqi provinces. Some 12,000 Iraqi soldiers and police were deployed along with 3,000 members of a police rapid response unit in Karbala. Tens of thousands of Iraqi troops and police were also on duty in nearby Najaf for Ashura.
Some 4,000 officers were patrolling the 50-kilometre (30-mile) route between Najaf and Karbala. Checkpoints were set up along all routes to Karbala and the security forces used special equipment to detect explosives, police said.
It has been reported that up to a million pilgrims descended on Karbala for Ashura. In the past, bombers have mingled among crowds of pilgrims before detonating their explosives, causing carnage.
The Ashura massacre of March 2, 2004 was a series of terrorist bombings that killed at least 178 and injured at least 500 Shia Muslims commemorating Ashura in Karbala and Baghdad.
——Agencies