Three Iraqi soldiers were killed on Thursday when a suspected Islamic State militant detonated an explosive vest, state media reported, as security forces remain on high alert for sectarian attacks.
The soldiers were carrying out a raid on an alleged IS cell in the Tarmiya district north of the capital after receiving reports that the militants were planning to target Shia Muslims who make the annual pilgrimage to the shrine and burial site of the ‘Imam Moussa al-Kadhim in northern Baghdad, the state-run Iraq News Agency reported.
In addition to the suicide bomber, two other cell members were killed in clashes with the army. The army was searching the surrounding area for other potential militants.
Meanwhile, amid freezing temperatures and heightened security measures, thousands of black-robed pilgrims from across Iraq marched in the annual procession on Thursday to mark the death of a Shiite saint.
Pilgrims traditionally walk to the shrine and burial site of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim, the seventh of 12 Shia imams who died in a Baghdad prison in the 8th century. The procession leads to the site in the Kadimiyah neighborhood of northern Baghdad. Participants dress in black, with some self-flagellation to publicly express their mourning.
IRANIAN-BACKED MILITIA LAUNCH ROCKETS AT TURKISH BASE IN NORTHERN IRAQ
Shia worshipers gather at the golden-domed shrine of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim, who died in the late 8th century, during the annual commemoration of the saint’s death, in Baghdad, Iraq February 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
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Tents were pitched along the miles of road pilgrims walked on Thursday, distributing free food and water. Thousands of Iraqi security forces have been deployed throughout the city to ensure the safety of pilgrims, while some roads and bridges have been closed to vehicles to allow pedestrian traffic only.
Sadiq Jaffar, 27, from Baghdad, told the Associated Press that he would be taking part in the pilgrimage “because it is important to my identity, despite all the problems the country is facing such as rising food prices and corruption rampant.”
This year’s pilgrimage takes place just before the 20th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq that brought about the overthrow of longtime dictator Saddam Hussein. Hussein had banned such pilgrimages from taking place.
During the years of civil war that followed, insurgents repeatedly targeted Shiite pilgrims during their religious ceremonies.
Iraq broke out of a year-long political deadlock with the formation of a government in October, but hopes for a stabilization of the political and economic situation were short-lived.
The measures taken by the United States in recent months to crack down on money laundering and the channeling of dollars to Iran and Syria from Iraq have severely limited Iraq’s access to hard currency, leading to currency devaluation and inflation of prices.
