At least 31 dead during the Boerbaela Ashur Festival

Periskopi

10 September 2019, 17:45(7 years ago)

At least 31 people died, and 100 others were injured, during the Shiite Muslim religious rituals of Ashur's Festival in Iraq's holy southern city of Kerbela. The death toll, which the Ministry of Health in Iraq revealed, is expected to increase, as some are in critical condition. The ministry did not [...]

The death toll, which the Ministry of Health in Iraq revealed, is expected to increase, as some are in critical condition.

The ministry did not disclose how the event happened, but an official told Reuters that the incident occurred during the break-up at the entrance of a building.

The annual pilgrim, marking the death of Hussein, grandson of the prophet Muhammad, in the battle of 680, draws hundreds of thousands of Shiite Muslims from around the world in Cerbela.

Hussein's death in a battle in Qerbaela on the leadership of the Islamic community is one of the determining events in the division between Shiite and Sunni Muslims.