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 The presence in the country of ultra-hardline Islamic state
militants who swept through the north earlier this year raises the
possibility of wider bloodshed this year.
Islamic State, seen as more ruthless than its predecessor in Iraq,
al Qaeda, believes Shi'ites are infidels who deserve to be killed
and the group has claimed responsibility for numerous suicide
bombings against members of the majority sect.
Security for the event has been tight since suspected al Qaeda
suicide bombers and mortar attacks killed 171 people during Ashoura,
an event that defines Shi'ism and its rift with Sunni Islam, in
Kerbala and Baghdad in 2004.
Shi'ites are commemorating the slaying of Prophet Mohammad's
grandson Hussein at the battle of Kerbala in AD 680.
In the holy city of Kerbala, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims
gathered outside the Shrine of Imam Hussein chanting: "Hussein,
Hussein, Hussein."
During the ritual, Shi'ites beat their heads and chests and gash
their heads with swords to show their grief and echo the suffering
of Imam Hussein.
In the past, suicide bombers posing as pilgrims have infiltrated
large crowds, and militants have fired mortar rounds at the
gathering from the outskirts of Kerbala.
HISTORY OF OPPRESSION
Under Saddam Hussein's secular rule, such displays were banned in
Iraq, which was ruled mostly by Sunnis in his Baath Party.
Since the dictator was toppled in 2003, Shi'ites have dominated
Iraqi governments but openly practicing their faith at large
gatherings puts the majority sect at risk of suicide bombing attacks
by hardline Sunni groups.
Islamic State's attacks on Shi'ites have contributed to a return in
violence to the alarming levels of 2006-2007, the peak of a
sectarian civil war.
After taking office three months ago, Shi'ite Prime Minister Haider
al-Abadi promised to heal sectarian divisions in order to unite the
country against Islamic State, which has declared a caliphate in
parts of Iraq and Syria it controls.
But there have been no tangible signs that he is taking on
Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias, which seem to act with impunity.
The Sunni minority, who were marginalized by Abadi's predecessor
Nuri al-Maliki, complain that the militias kidnap, torture and kill
at will. The militias say they only go after Islamic State
militants.
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Last week, Islamic State executed more than 300 members of a Sunni
tribe in western Anbar province which had defied them for weeks and
dumped the bodies in mass graves or on roadsides.
During the emotional ritual in Kerbala, Shi'ites were defiant,
despite the new dangers posed by Islamic State.
"Islamic State can’t stop us from coming with their violence," said
pilgrim Ali Ajaj, 65.
His wife, Um Mohammed, recalled how Saddam Hussein's agents killed
two of their sons, a tragedy that made her more determined to
practice her faith.
"Islamic State car bombs and explosions will not stop me from
coming," she said.
Under strict security measures on Tuesday, cars were not allowed to
enter Kerbala for fear of car bomb attacks. Instead, pilgrims
boarded buses organized by authorities.
There were no reports of bombing attacks by mid-afternoon. But
Iraq's steady supply of violence was seen elsewhere.
In Diyala Province, mortar rounds wounded five people, security
sources said. An unidentified body of someone who was shot
execution-style was retrieved in the same province.
(Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Giles Elgood and Sophie
Walker)
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