60 different countries are descending on the holy city of Karbala in central Iraq
Pilgrims from more than 60 different countries are descending on the holy city of Karbala in central Iraq, where they intend to mark Arba’een, the fortieth day following the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein, peace be upon him.
Some 35,000 security personnel have been deployed on the ground inside the city of Karbala and on its borders, according to reports.
Imam Hussein, peace be upon him, and 72 of his companions were martyred back in the seventh century at the hands of the oppressor of the time, Yazid I, an Umayyad caliph, to whom they had refused to pledge allegiance.
