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| Shiites mark Ashura in Iraq; gunmen attack Shiite hall in Saudi Arabia | Shiites mark Ashura in Iraq; gunmen attack Shiite hall in Saudi Arabia |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| BAGHDAD — Iraqi security forces and Shiite militiamen joined forces against feared Islamic State attacks Tuesday as huge processions of Shiite pilgrims took part in a major religious commemoration centered on the shrine city of Karbala. | |
| The events marking the Shiite observances, known as Ashura, are a major security challenge in Shiite-dominated Iraq and other places with minority Shiite populations such as Saudi Arabia, where gunmen killed five people outside a Shiite religious hall on Monday. | |
| The extensive protection for Ashura in Iraq reflects the increased ability of the Islamic State to strike Shiite targets — most recently a series of suicide blasts and rocket attacks in Baghdad. | |
| It also is an unsettling reminder of the deepening sectarian unrest across Iraq following the Islamic State’s dramatic gains earlier this year. Scenes of security forces on high alert stirred memories of the nonstop bloodshed between Sunni and Shiite factions in the years after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. | |
| The Sunni-led Islamic State, which now holds significant portions of Iraq, views Shiites as a heretic branch of Islam. In response, well-armed Shiite militia groups — many with ties to Shiite power Iran — have turned their weapons on the Islamic State. | |
| The militias also patrolled procession routes as hundreds of thousands of Shiite pilgrims descended on Karbala — about 65 miles south of Baghdad — to mark the death of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad and revered by Shiites as his rightful successor. Sunnis acknowledge a different line of leaders after the prophet’s death in the 7th century. | |
| Iraqi troops and police were on high alert in Baghdad and Karbala. According to Iraq’s Defense Ministry, “tens of thousands” of security forces were deployed to protect worshippers from possible Islamic State attacks. | Iraqi troops and police were on high alert in Baghdad and Karbala. According to Iraq’s Defense Ministry, “tens of thousands” of security forces were deployed to protect worshippers from possible Islamic State attacks. |
| Troops were required to secure the road from Baghdad to Karbala, which pilgrims travel to reach the shrine. There, observers chant, pray, or self-flagellate with knives or chains to emulate the pain Hussein felt the night he was slain during the Battle of Karbala in the 7th century. | Troops were required to secure the road from Baghdad to Karbala, which pilgrims travel to reach the shrine. There, observers chant, pray, or self-flagellate with knives or chains to emulate the pain Hussein felt the night he was slain during the Battle of Karbala in the 7th century. |
| Late last month, security forces backed by Shiite militias recaptured the town of Jurf al-Sakhar from Islamic State militants in a bid to clear the route for Karbala pilgrims. Wedged between Anbar province, a jihadist stronghold, and the largely Shiite provinces in the south, the area’s key location would have threatened the religious procession, security officials said. | Late last month, security forces backed by Shiite militias recaptured the town of Jurf al-Sakhar from Islamic State militants in a bid to clear the route for Karbala pilgrims. Wedged between Anbar province, a jihadist stronghold, and the largely Shiite provinces in the south, the area’s key location would have threatened the religious procession, security officials said. |
| “There are many checkpoints and security is good. They are very alert,” Haider Ali, 24, said from Karbala by phone. He said that Shiite militias, who oppose the Islamic State, were also helping secure the ceremony. | “There are many checkpoints and security is good. They are very alert,” Haider Ali, 24, said from Karbala by phone. He said that Shiite militias, who oppose the Islamic State, were also helping secure the ceremony. |
| Rights groups have criticized the Shiite militias for carrying out sectarian violence against Iraq’s Sunni population. | Rights groups have criticized the Shiite militias for carrying out sectarian violence against Iraq’s Sunni population. |
| On Tuesday, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing and multiple rocket attacks on Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad the previous night. | |
| In a statement circulated online and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks extremist Web sites, the militants said they had “ruined” the government’s security plan by carrying out the attacks. | |
| In Saudi Arabia, sporadic violence has flared in Shiite areas in the eastern part of the country amid protests for greater recognition and rights by the Sunni monarchy. Last month, a Saudi court sentenced a Shiite cleric to death for his role in anti-government protests. | |
| Assailants shot and killed five people outside a Shiite religious hall on Monday in eastern Saudi Arabia, a major oil-producing region. The state-run Saudi Press Agency reported Tuesday that six people were arrested in the capital Riyadh in connection with the attack. The agency quoted an Interior Ministry official as calling the slayings a “terrorist crime.” | |
| Mustafa Salim contributed reporting | Mustafa Salim contributed reporting |