Airstrike hits Arbaeen Madhif near Karbala
Shafaq News- Karbala
An airstrike struck a station serving pilgrims near Checkpoint 45 on the Karbala-Baghdad road at dawn on Wednesday, a security source told Shafaq News.
The strike caused no casualties.
The site, known locally as Madhif —a roadside guest station where volunteers and local families offer food, water, and shelter to travelers— is one of thousands set up along the routes into Karbala for the Arbaeen commemoration.
Iraq observes Arbaeen on Wednesday, one of the world's largest annual religious gatherings, which draws millions of Shia Muslim pilgrims to Karbala to mark 40 days after the killing of Imam Hussein bin Ali, the third Imam, in 680. For more than a week, pilgrims have been converging on the city on foot from across Iraq and from abroad.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) and Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry said a joint military operation carried out precision strikes in Iraq at dawn today against Iran-aligned groups it accused of directing more than 30 drone attacks on US forces and Saudi energy facilities over 72 hours. CENTCOM did not identify the provinces or specific sites targeted.
Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry described the operation as a response to drone attacks on oil facilities in the kingdom's Eastern Province and Riyadh, saying it did not seek escalation but would respond to any aggression.
The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) said several of its headquarters in different areas were hit in attacks it called terrorist, reporting dead, wounded, and material damage. A security source told Shafaq News that explosions were reported in Basra, Karbala, Wasit, and the Nineveh Plain.
Iran denied any involvement in the drone attacks, and an unnamed Iranian military official said attributing them to Tehran was a miscalculation, according to Iran's state broadcaster.
