Waves of Shiite pilgrims descend on Iraqi city

updated 6:11 a.m. ET Aug. 26, 2007

BAGHDAD - Waves of Shiite pilgrims descended on Karbala Sunday for a festival marking the birth of the 9th century Hidden Imam. A woman making the 50-mile trek from Baghdad was shot to death by men in a passing car in the southwest of the capital.

More than a million Shiite faithful from throughout the world were expected to converge on the Shiite holy city for the celebrations, which reach their high point late Tuesday and early Wednesday. The Shabaniyah festival marks the birth of Mohammed al-Mahdi, the 12th and last Shiite imam who disappeared in the 9th century.

Religious Shiites refer to al-Mahdi as the “Hidden Imam,” believing he was spared death and will return to Earth to bring peace and justice.

Six men were wounded as they walked toward Karbala with the woman who was gunned down, according to Baghdad police officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

In the past, Sunni religious extremists, including al-Qaida in Iraq, have launched massive and deadly attacks against pilgrims during Shiite celebrations, which have drawn huge crowds since the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein’s Sunni-dominated regime.

Last March, about 340 people were killed in a weeklong wave of bombings and shootings. Most of the dead were Shiite pilgrims en route to religious ceremonies in Karbala.

Vehicles banned
To prevent a repeat, Iraqi authorities Saturday banned motorcycles, bicycles and horse-drawn wagons from the streets of Baghdad indefinitely. Earlier in the day, state television announced that the ban applied to all vehicles, including cars and trucks.

Later, the chief military spokesman for Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Mousawi, said cars and trucks would be allowed but other forms of transport that could slip into smaller places were banned until further notice.

All vehicles were banned from the Karbala city center and each pilgrim entering the district was subjected to a security pat-down by the thousands of police on duty.

“I was hesitant to come because I feared a terrorist attack, but when I saw these strict security I felt safe,” said Haji Sabeeh Raheem, a 61-year-old pilgrim from Najaf, another Shiite holy city to the south.

During an interview with government television Saturday night, Baghdad chief military spokesman Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Mousawial-Mousawi said U.S. and other international troops would provide water to pilgrims along the route to Karbala. U.S. aircraft would provide surveillance to prevent extremists from firing on the crowds.

He also said pilgrims would be forbidden to carry mobile phones, which can be used to detonate bombs, and large bags which could conceal weapons.

“These measures will provide the right basis for the success of the security plan,” al-Mousawi said. “We have taken into consideration all possible threats.”

In Karbala, police asked hotel owners not to accept guests who have no passports or residency papers as protection against Sunni extremists infiltrating the crowds. Police said vehicles would be banned from the city center to prevent car bombings near the two mosques that are the focal point of the commemorations.

All vehicles were ordered off the streets of Baghdad from Aug. 8 through the morning of Aug. 11 during Shiite ceremonies honoring Imam Kadhim, whose tomb was near the site of Saturday’s car bombing. The move paralyzed the city but brought killings to a near standstill.

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