The holiest time for Shi'a muslims is Ashura, which commemorates the seventh-century slaying of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein in Karbala.
Each year, millions of Shi'ite pilgrims march, chant and some flagellate themselves in ritualistic processions through Karbala and through other Shi'ite centres around the country. The processions mourn the seventh century killing of their revered martyr, Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
Hussein was murdered in the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD on the day of Ashura, meaning ‘tenth' in Arabic as it is the 10th day of Muharram, the first month of the Muslim calendar. Shi'ites consider him as their third Imam – after his brother Hassan ibn Ali and his father Ali ibn Abu Talib - and the rightful successor of the Prophet. Hussein's martyrdom is widely interpreted by Shi'ites as a symbol of the struggle against injustice, tyranny, and oppression.
This year's Ashura pilgrimage will end on 30 January.
In the past, the pilgrimage site has been a perfect target for those who would like to create more sectarian tension in Iraq as upwards of three million were expected to visit Karbala for the celebration.
Iraq deployed 8,000 police and security personnel to the city to keep things cool.
Intelligence gathered indicated that a large anti-Government force was gathering to turn the celebration into carnage. US and Iraqi forces attacked first outside the holy city itself.
...Iraqi soldiers supported by U.S. aircraft fought all day with a large group of insurgents in the Zarqa area, about 12 miles northeast of Najaf, home to major Shi'ite shrines...
Provincial Gov. Assad Sultan Abu Kilel said the assault in Najaf was staged because the insurgents planned to attack Shi'ite pilgrims and clerics during ceremonies marking Ashoura, the holiest day in the Shi'ite calendar. The celebration culminates tomorrow in huge public processions in Karbala and other Shi'ite cities.
Iraqi officials claimed over 300 bad guys were killed in the fighting
The fighting that began Sunday near the Shiite holy city of Najaf had largely subsided by Monday as Iraqi security forces frisked suspects, including several men forced to lie down on a road between a bus and a motorcycle, while others patrolled elsewhere on the battlefield.
A U.S. helicopter crashed during the fight, killing two American soldiers whose bodies were recovered, the military said. The statement did not give any information on why the aircraft crashed — the second U.S. military helicopter to do down in eight days.
Ahmed Deaibil, a spokesman for Najaf province, said the fighting had continued until 4 a.m. Monday, but U.S. and Iraqi forces still had the area surrounded and had seized heavy machine-guns, ammunition and other weapons.
Among the dead were Sunni foreigners
Citing reports from commanders on the ground, he said 300 militants had been killed and 13 arrested, while the casualty toll for Iraqi forces was three soldiers and two policemen killed and 30 wounded.
Brig. Gen. Fadhil Barwari also said 300 militants had been killed, including 30 Afghans and Saudis, and 20 were captured. Iraqi security officials said earlier that one Sudanese was among the fighters detained.
The foiled plot intended to kill prominent Shi'a leaders
Iraqi officials said insurgents planned to seize control of the city and surrounding province and kill top Shia religious figures -- including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most revered Shiite leader...
Jraiwi said the Iraqis were tipped off that insurgents were gathering near the town of Zarqa, about six miles (10 km) north of Najaf. He said they moved southward among convoys of Shia pilgrims headed for Najaf for Ashura, when Shiites mark the 7th-century martyrdom of the Imam Hussein, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson.
He said captured fighters told Iraqi authorities they planned to attack senior clerics and the Imam Ali Shrine at the heart of the city. He said insurgents were using small arms, mortars and rockets against Iraqi soldiers and police backed by U.S. troops and aircraft....
Al-Sistani pushed for early elections after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled former leader Saddam Hussein in 2003 and urged his followers in the majority-Shiite country to turn out and vote. During the years of attacks by Sunni Arab insurgents, he has urged his followers to avoid bloodshed in reprisals.
His killing "would really plunge Iraq and the possibly the rest of the region into a bloodbath," said Vali Nasr, a professor at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and author of "The Shia Revival," a recent book on the rise of the sect.
"Ayatollah Sistani is the most revered and the most followed Shia spiritual leader," Nasr told CNN. "He is like the Shia pope. Shias follow him across the Middle East in religious affairs, and his death at the hands of the insurgents would be of enormous symbolic value."
During the battle, a US helicopter was shot down
A U.S. military helicopter went down during the battle Sunday afternoon, killing two soldiers aboard, the U.S. command in Baghdad said. The military said the cause of the crash is still under investigation, but Iraqi officials said the chopper was shot down by insurgents.
Meanwhile, thousands, including communist sympathizer Jane Fonda, marched in the US in support of the anti-Democracy murderers.
