- Title: IRAQ: Iraqi pilgrims say security situation much better than before
- Date: 18th July 2009
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RAAD AL-QURAISHI, SHI'ITE PILGRIM SAYING: "The visit was great and better organised than any other year. The security was better than any other year. Thank God, we managed to go and come back without any reported attacks. The facilities were all there." VARIOUS OF SHI'ITE PILGRIMS HEADING HOME ON FOOT AFTER END OF RITUALS PILGRIMS IN TRUCKS, RETURNING HOME VARIOUS OF PILGRIMS GETTING OUT OF TRUCKS, WALKING HOME (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNIDENTIFIED SHI'ITE PILGRIM, SAYING: "The road was safe and we did not feel tired. Thank God, we went and came back safely and people have managed to go and come back without any attacks. This is the first year that I have seen it so safe." MEN ON ROOF OF VEHICLE, HEADING HOME PILGRIMS HEADING HOME ON FOOT
- Embargoed: 2nd August 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Iraq
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Religion
- Reuters ID: LVA270TS02PBPMDSXI068MG0D71M
- Story Text: Iraqi pilgrims commemorating the death of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim say the security situation in Baghdad is much better than is was in previous years.
Hundreds of thousands of Shi'ite pilgrims headed home on Saturday (July 18) at the end of the annual pilgrimage to mark the death of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim, the seventh of the twelve Shi'ite imams.
A sea of people, mostly dressed in black, thronged the streets leading to the golden-domed shrine of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim in Baghdad throughout Friday to commemorate the death of the medieval religious leader.
Pilgrims heading home said the security situation in the Iraqi capital was much better than it had been in previous years.
"The visit was great and better organised than any other year. The security was better than any other year. Thank God, we managed to go and come back without any reported attacks. The facilities were all there," said Raad al-Quraishi.
Iraqi security officials said they had expected up to six million Shi'ite pilgrims to visit the Imam Moussa al-Kadhim shrine in northern Baghdad, which has been the site of some of the deadliest attacks on Iraqi civilians since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of the country.
This was the first big test for Iraqi forces, who handled the security situation without U.S. support, following last month's withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraqi towns and cities.
One pilgrim said he had noticed a huge improvement in security.
"The road was safe and we did not feel tired. Thank God, we went and came back safely and people have managed to go and come back without any attacks. This is the first year that I have seen it so safe," the pilgrim said.
The Kadhimiya site was surrounded by three rings of security personnel for the event, to search each pilgrim, and helicopters patrolled overhead. Cameras on air balloons also monitored the site, the surveillance provided by the U.S. military at Iraq's request.
However, despite the intensive security, some bombers did make it through: a roadside bomb targeting a group of pilgrims in Zaafaraniya in southeastern Baghdad killed one pilgrim and wounded six others, police said. Other bombs placed on roads teaming with pilgrims wounded many in different districts.
Such religious gatherings are frequently targeted by Sunni militants such al Qaeda, which considers Shi'ites heretics. In April, two suicide bombers killed 60 people outside the shrine.
During a pilgrimage in 2005, rumours of a bombing on the Bridge of the Imams, leading to the shrine, triggered a stampede that killed 1,000, filling the river below with bodies.
The incident was the deadliest since 2003. The bridge, which connects Sunni and Shi'ite areas of Baghdad, reopened last year. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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