Over 9,000 PMU forces deployed to ensure Arbaeen security

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): More than 9,500 forces of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) have been deployed to ensure the security of pilgrims in the holy city of Karbala and roads leading to it during Arbaeen.

Major General Ali al-Hamdani, a senior PMU commander, said in a press release that the number of PMU forces in the city has doubled and reached 9,500 ahead of Arbaeen, INA news agency reported.

The PMU, also known as Hashd al-Shaabi, has also deployed 266 patrol units, he added.

According to the commander, the operation to maintain security is being carried out in coordination with other armed forces in the provinces of Karbala, Diwaniyah, and Babil.

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 Karbala, where the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) is located, to perform mourning rites.

Many of them walk all the way from Basra, Najaf, Baghdad and other cities to Karbala.

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