Karbala launches extensive security plan for Ashura
Shafaq News- Karbala
Iraqi authorities and Karbala’s holy shrines have activated extensive security, health, and public service plans as millions of pilgrims arrived on Thursday night to mark the eve of Ashura, one of the country’s largest annual Shiite commemorations.
Ashura, observed on the tenth day of Muharram, marks the killing of Imam Hussein bin Ali, the third Shia Imam and grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE. For Shia Muslims, the occasion symbolizes sacrifice, dignity, and resistance to injustice.
Black banners lined the city's streets as Husseini mawakib, volunteer-run processions providing food, water, rest areas, and mourning services, received visitors arriving from across Iraq and abroad, while many residents opened their homes, continuing a long-standing tradition of hospitality.
Read more: Baghdad neighborhood revives Ashura ritual
Speaking to Shafaq News, Karbala Provincial Council member Israa Al-Nasrawi said preparations had been underway for more than a month, with government agencies deploying medical teams along the main routes from Najaf, Baghdad, and Babil, as well as across the city. She expected attendance to exceed last year’s estimated 12 million visitors.
The Imam Hussein and Al-Abbas Holy Shrines also unveiled coordinated operational plans for the Tuwairij Run, one of Ashura's largest mourning rituals, deploying 10,000 personnel, including 2,000 staff members and 8,000 volunteers, expanding surveillance with more than 4,400 cameras, organizing 831 mourning and service processions, and preparing three designated routes to manage crowd movement.
The arrangements also include covering the central courtyard between the two shrines with 10,000 square meters of red carpeting, distributing around 50,000 meals daily, and installing hundreds of misting fans to help visitors cope with the summer heat.
Read more: Millions gather for Ashura ahead of Karbala's peak pilgrimage
Media coverage has also expanded. Hussein Al-Shammari, head of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate's Karbala branch, told Shafaq News that 419 accreditations had been issued to journalists representing 23 television channels, 20 news agencies, and 30 foreign correspondents.
Authorities further mobilized 120 firefighting and rescue teams, 1,350 civil defense personnel, 100 ambulances, 13 hospitals and emergency medical centers, more than 3,200 sanitation workers, 419 specialized vehicles, over 300 sewage trucks, 57 pumping stations, and nine wastewater treatment projects to support the commemoration.
Read more: Muharram in Iraq: New year becomes a season of mourning
