AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): There will be 3,000 flight from Iran to Iraq and back to the country to transport Iranian pilgrims during the Arbaeen season, an official said.
Seyed Kamal Hadianfar, head of the Arbaeen Headquarters of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, said an agreement has been reached with the Iraqi side on the issue.
Speaking at a meeting of the headquarters, he said the agreement was reached during a meeting with Iraqi officials in the holy city of Najaf.
He put the number of weekly flights to and from Iraq during Arbaeen at 700.
Hadianfar noted that 80 percent of the flights will be to and from the airport in Najaf, while the other 20 percent will be to and from the Baghdad airport.
The official predicted that the number of Iranian pilgrims taking part in the Arbaeen march this year will be around 4.6 million, most of whom are expected to travel to the border areas with Iraq by car.
The others will travel by air, rail and bus, as well as by ship between the Iranian and Iraqi port cities of Khorramshahr and Basara, he went on to say.
Arbaeen is a religious event that is observed by Shia Muslims on the fortieth day after the Day of Ashura. It commemorates the 40th day of martyrdom of Hussein ibn Ali (AS), the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the third Shia imam, who was killed by the army of Yazid I in the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE.
Arbaeen is also known as the Ziyarat of Arbaeen, which means the visitation of Imam Hussein’s (AS) shrine in Karbala, Iraq, where his body is buried. Ziyarat is an act of pilgrimage and devotion in Shia Islam.
Arbaeen is one of the largest annual pilgrimages in the world, with millions of Shia Muslims from different countries walking to Karbala from various cities in Iraq and neighboring countries. The distance can range from 80 km to 500 km or more, depending on the starting point.
This year’s Arbaeen falls on August 25.
.....................
End/ 257