Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it
exclusively produces is in the public domain.

Shi'ite Pilgrims Pack Karbala Under Tight Iraqi Security
--------------------------------------------------------

http://enews.voanews.com/t?r=279&ctl=13DF450:A6F02AD83191E160DC8EB9FE7B3A28499574F7DCC14957C0 Heavy security in
place across city during festival commemorating birth of ninth-century
Imam al-Mahdi al-Muntadar



" hspace=2
src="/english/images/ap_iraq_pilgrims_karabala_8sep06_eng_210.jpg"
width=192 vspace=2 border=0>

Thousands of pilgrims arrive in Karbala to mark the birth anniversary
of Shi'ite Imam Al-Mehdi

Hundreds of thousands of Shi'ite pilgrims gathered in Iraq's holy city
of Karbala for a religious festival.

Iraqi authorities expect the number of pilgrims to top one million.
Heavy security is in place across the city during the festival
commemorating the birth of ninth-century Imam al-Mahdi al-Muntadar.

In other developments Saturday, bomb attacks in Baghdad killed at
least two people. And, a gunman killed an employee of Iraq's
government-run newspaper in the capital.

Iraqi officials also announced Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is
heading to Iran Monday. Officials say his two-day visit will focus on
security and bilateral issues.

On Friday, insurgents firing mortar rounds killed at least three
Shi'ite pilgrims in a procession near Karbala. Officials say at least
six more pilgrims were wounded.

In other violence, a roadside bomb in Baghdad killed at least two
people.

Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

 


.