Security tight as thousands mark Iraqi holy day

Hundreds of thousands of Shiites beat their heads and chests and whipped themselves with chains today in Iraq as part of a holy day to honour the martyrdom of one of their most revered religious figures.

The processions to mark Ashoura were relatively peaceful, although bombs and a rocket attack killed at least nine worshippers in northern Iraq.

South of Baghdad, authorities raised the death toll from clashes in two predominantly Shiite cities to at least 72, including security forces, civilians and gunmen, but said the situation had been brought under control.

Iraqi officials stepped up security across much of the country to protect the Shiite processions for the 10-day Ashoura holiday period.

Two bombs hidden under rubbish struck an Ashoura procession in the city of Kirkuk today, killing at least two and wounding five.

A rocket attack also struck a busy market in the northern city of Tal Afar, killing at least seven people and wounding 17. The victims were struck as they were gathering after performing the Ashoura rituals, according to reports.

Some 30,000 troops were deployed in the holy city of Karbala, including reinforcements from Baghdad, to ensure the Shiites’ most important holiday was protected.

Ashoura observances mark the seventh century death of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, in a battle near Karbala that enshrined the Sunni-Shiite schism.

It is essentially a mournful occasion but Iraq’s majority Shiites have used it to showcase their dominant status after decades of oppression under Saddam Hussein’s Sunni-led regime.

Ten days of observances climaxed today with a massive procession in Karbala as the main event. Men wearing black or white robes danced in circles and chanted.

They pounded their chests, slashed their heads and beat their foreheads with the flat sides of swords and knives.

Security was tight with extensive searches and a vehicle ban as Sunni Arab militants have repeatedly targeted Ashoura processions, with hundreds killed by mortar shelling or car bombings since 2003.