One Dead and Four Injured Following Mortar Explosion in Karbala

The deputy operations officer of the Iranian Red Crescent Society reported that due to the explosion of six mortars on Friday, December 21, in the city of Karbala, Iraq, 'one person' was killed and 'four people' were injured. None of the deceased or injured are Iranian. Nasser Kharkhsaaz, the deputy of the Iranian Red Crescent, stated in an interview with the state news agency IRNA that so far 'six' mortars have exploded around Karbala, but these explosions did not occur in urban areas. He cited 'informed sources' indicating that in these explosions 'one person' was killed and 'four people' were injured. In another report, IRNA mentioned that several mortar shells hit the areas of 'Al-Binaa Al-Jahiz' and 'Al-Nasr' in Karbala, and two mortar shells, despite hitting the ground, did not explode and were neutralized by officials. Meanwhile, the Tasnim news agency reported that nearly 'ten explosions' occurred in various locations outside the city of Karbala from the early hours of today, with the last one occurring at 12:30 AM local time. The Fars news agency also quoted a source in Karbala stating that 'only one explosion' occurred near the shrine of the third Shiite Imam in the city, which caused 'no' casualties and only damaged buildings. The city of Karbala is located 70 kilometers from Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. Several weeks ago, ISIS forces were defeated in the Jurf al-Sakhar area along the Karbala-Baghdad route. According to government officials, more than 1.3 million Iranians traveled to Iraq in recent days for the Arbaeen ceremony, the fortieth day after the death of the third Shiite Imam. Meanwhile, Ali Jannati, the Minister of Culture, previously stated that the number of Iranians who went to Iraq for the Arbaeen ceremony in 2013 was 500,000. In addition, according to Khalid al-Obeidi, the Iraqi Minister of Defense, the number of pilgrims in Karbala for this year's Arbaeen ceremony has reached a record of 17.5 million. Arbaeen is a ceremony held annually on the fortieth day after the martyrdom of the third Shiite Imam in the desert of Karbala and is one of the largest religious gatherings of Shiites worldwide. This year, Arbaeen falls on December 22. On the other hand, the political and security deputy of the Ilam governorate reported that more than 45,000 Iranians returned from Iraq to Iran before the Arbaeen ceremony. Hossein Kalantari stated, 'Many pilgrims who entered Iraq in the last two days had to return after walking 30 kilometers in the country due to a lack of transportation, accommodation, and food facilities.' Iranian media have heavily promoted the Arbaeen ceremony in Iraq in recent days, referring to the Arbaeen of 2014 as 'the peak of Shiite power in the world' and 'elements of soft power in the world of Shiism.' Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, also described the million-strong Arbaeen gathering as 'a symbol of the benevolent face of Islam and the fight against international terrorism.' In this context, following the congestion of Iranian pilgrims, Iraq closed the Mehran border.