hlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Iraq’s Interior Minister Othman al-Ghanmi said some 20,000 army and special forces will be deployed to ensure security of pilgrims during the Arbaeen rituals.
He said the security measures have been stepped up and new units have been added to the security forces for Arbaeen this year, al-Furat News reported.
Al-Ghanemi has travelled to the provinces of Babil, Karbala and Najaf in recent days to inspect the security preparations.
Earlier this month, Iraqi National Security Service Chief Abdel-Ghani Al-Asadi said that all necessary security preparations have been made for the Arbaeen march and the upcoming parliamentary elections in the country.
Arbaeen, which is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, comes 40 days after Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of the third Shia Imam, Imam Hussein (AS).
Each year, a huge crowd of Shias flock to the Iraqi city of Karbala, where the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) is located, to perform mourning rites.
Many of them walk all the way from Najaf to Karbala.
This year, Arbaeen falls on September 27.
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