Nine Million Visitors Flock to Karbala

Around nine million of Muslim Iraqi visitors arrived in the holy city of Karbala on Thursday to commemorate the 40th after the seventh century martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson. "The number of people who visited Karbala has touched nine million," Major General Raed Shakir Jawdat said. Akhil al-Khazali, the governor of Karbala, said it was a "record" turnout. Around 50,000 Iraqi policemen and soldiers have been deployed in and around Karbala to thwart any possible insurgent attacks as throngs of visitors converge. "The security plan put in place has worked the way we expected," said Jawdat. The commemoration of Arbaeen reached its climax on Thursday, when visitors gathered on Karbala where Imam Hussein and his half brother Imam Abass are buried. Many of the visitors made the 80 kilometers journey by foot from Baghdad under heavy security.