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Iraq
Shia pilgrims converge in Baghdad
2009-07-17
To keep in mind in case there is a large terror incident over the weekend.
(AKI) - Hundreds of thousands of Shia pilgrims on Thursday were making their way to a holy shrine in the Iraqi capital Baghdad to commemorates the death of a revered imam. The pilgrimage reaches its climax on Saturday, Arabic satellite TV network Al-Arabiya reports. Millions of pilgrims are expected over the next few days to gather at the shrine of the 8th-century imam Musa al-Kathim, an alleged descent of the Prophet Mohammed.

Authorities view the pilgrimage as an important test for Iraq's security following the withdrawal last month of US soldiers from urban areas and the death of 1,000 people during a stampede on a bridge near the shrine in 2005.

Police checkpoints have been set up and many roads have been closed in a bid to avoid violence in the northern Baghdad neighbourhood of Kazimiyah, where the shrine is located, and the government has banned motorcycles and wheeled carts until Sunday.

Shia pilgrims from all over Iraq were reported to be travelling to the shrine on foot, by car, bus, motorbike and truck.
Posted by:trailing wife

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