Tightened security measures in Karbala

In Karbala to the south of Baghdad, the authorities tightened security measures and some 8,000 police men and soldiers were deployed at a time when the Shiite started to gather to celebrate the religious Ashoura day.

Chief of the city's police Abdul Razzq al-Tai said that a security plan will be implemented on the 10th of the "Hijra Muharram" month which witnesses the gathering of hundreds of thousands of the Shiite. A security belt was imposed around Karbala in precaution of attacks by mortar shelling and food given to visitors will be tested.

The anniversary of Ashoura in 2005 passed without problems, but a series of attacks targeted the Shiite procession killed in 2004 at least 171 persons.