Basra ready to serve a million Arbaeen Pilgrims

Officials in the southern Iraqi province of Basra said the province is ready to serve Arbaeen pilgrims.

Officials in the southern Iraqi province of Basra said the province is ready to serve Arbaeen pilgrims.

According to Al Sumaria News, a committee in charge of running border crossings announced that some 16,000 foreign pilgrims from different nationalities have so far arrived in the province.

Foreign pilgrims come from Iran Gulf states as well as Europe, the US, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Republic of Azerbaijan and North Africa, Morthada Karim Shahmani, head of the committee said.

He said the total number of Arbaeen pilgrims crossing Basra is expected to reach a million.

Meanwhile, Jamil Shamri, a security official in Basra, said comprehensive measures have been taken to ensure safety and security for the pilgrims.

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, peace be upon him.

Each year, a huge crowd of Shias flock to Karbala, where the holy shrine of Imam Hussein, peace be upon him, is located, to perform mourning rites. Many of them also visit Imam Ali’s, peace be upon him, holy shrine in Najaf.