Tens of thousands of Shiites gather in Karbala

Tens of thousands of Shiites gathered in the Iraqi holy city of Karbala today, and police said they had uncovered a cache of explosives and arrested four insurgents for allegedly planning an attack on the pilgrims.

In December, more than 50 pilgrims died in a series of bombings in the city, 50 miles south of Baghdad, and in March 2004 at least 181 people died in co-ordinated bombings of Shiite pilgrims in Karbala and Baghdad. Both attacks were blamed on Sunni extremists.

Karbala also was the scene of heavy fighting in April 2004 between the Shiite militia of anti-US cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and multi-national forces.

The explosives cache found near Karbala was discovered late yesterday on farmland on the outskirts of the city, said police spokesman Rahman Mishawi.

Three “non-Iraqi Arabs” were arrested, Mishawi said, along with a man armed with several hand grenades who was caught walking with a procession of pilgrims.

Massive security precautions have been taken in Karbala and concern has deepened after Sunni terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi on Wednesday declared “all-out war” against the Shiite majority.

Officials said they expected more than a million people to gather today for celebrations marking the birth in 868 AD of the 12th imam, Mohammed al-Mahdi, who vanished without explanation. Shiites believe he will return.

Yesterday, al-Sadr’s armed militants staged a show of force in Basra, far to the south, blocking roads in the city centre and demanding the release of their local commander who had been arrested by British and Iraqi security forces. He was accused of launching raids against security forces in the city.

After a tense stand-off lasting several hours, the militiamen withdrew when an al-Sadr representative arrived to negotiate with police and British forces who control the region.

Britain, which has about 9,000 forces in southern Iraq, will keep its troops in the country as long as they are required and could send more, Defence Secretary John Reid said yesterday.

“Our troops will be there until such times as the conditions are met – those conditions being the Iraqis themselves having such democratic control and such security forces that they can take the lead,” Reid said.

Since Wednesday, when 14 suicide bombs exploded in Baghdad in the bloodiest day in the capital since the US-left invasion in 2003, a staggering wave of insurgent violence has killed at least 250 people and wounded hundreds more nationwide.

Shiites have suffered the brunt of the attacks, which al-Zarqawi said were in retaliation for the Iraqi-US military operation against the insurgent stronghold of Tal Afar, a northern city near the Syrian border.

The operation began on September 10, when a force of 5,000 Iraqi soldiers backed by 3,500 Americans stormed the city to clean it of insurgents for the second time in a year. Mopping-up operations continued yesterday with the Iraqi military reporting a total of 157 insurgents killed and 440 captured during the 10-day offensive.

Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul Aziz Mohamed-Jassim, said nine Iraqi soldiers and six policemen had died. The US military has reported no deaths among its forces in the ancient city, known for its old citadel.