BAGHDAD: At least 31 pilgrims died Tuesday in a stampede at the shrine ofImam Hussain in Iraq´s Karbala where they were marking the holy day ofAshura, the health ministry said in a new toll.
Ministry spokesman Saif al-Badr said the toll could rise even further, asanother 100 people were injured including 10 in critical condition.
It is the deadliest stampede in recent history during Ashura, when Shiitepilgrims from around the world swarm Karbala to commemorate the martyrdomof Imam Hussain, Prophet Mohammad’s grandson.
On Tuesday, packed processions of black-clad worshippers made their way tohis gold-domed shrine in Karbala, carrying black flags with “Hussain”written in red and wailing loudly.
Some mourners whipped their backs and chests in sorrow at the Iraqi cityof Karbala, also in the capital Baghdad and in the southern cities ofNajaf and Basra.
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The day is a national holiday, with streets across the country shuttered toallow for elaborate re-enactments of the Battle of Karbala.
In 2005, at least 965 pilgrims heading to a shrine in Baghdad during adifferent holiday died after rumours of a suicide bomber in the crowdsparked a mass stampede. -APP/AFP
