Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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January 19, 2008

Iraq Imposes Heavy Security for Shi'ite Rituals in Karbala
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1AF973B:A6F02AD83191E1601F9ABCD0561CC72F7F0EB4B66EA3A89D& Additional security
measures taken after Friday's clashes between government troops, armed
members of Shi'ite sect in Basra, Nasiriyah Iraqi authorities have
imposed tight security as Shi'ite pilgrims gather in the city of
Karbala Saturday for the annual Ashura religious observances - one of
the holiest events for Shi'ite Muslims.







Shi'ite pilgrims crowd in front of Imam Hussein shrine during Ashoura
observance in Karbala, Iraq, 19 Jan 2008Some 2.5 million people from
across Iraq and the rest of the Muslim world are expected to
participate in a commemoration of the seventh-century death in battle
of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.

Witnesses say Iraqi helicopters circled over Karbala, military
vehicles guarded all entrances to the city and a total ban on civilian
vehicular traffic is being imposed.

Additional security measures were taken after Friday's clashes between
government troops and armed members of a Shi'ite sect in the southern
cities of Basra and Nasiriyah.

Officials say more than 40 people were killed in the fighting that
erupted after members of the Soldiers of Heaven sect's militia
attacked police and civilians.

Ashura observances in southern Iraq in previous years have been marked
by sectarian clashes.

In other news, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says the
frequency of roadside bomb attacks in Iraq or IED. attacks - the U.S.
military's term for "improvised explosive devices" is increasing.

Speaking Friday in South Carolina, at a military facility that
prepares armored vehicles for use in Iraq, Gates said there were as
many IED attacks in the first half of January as there were for the
entire month of December.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters


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