Iraqi police detain 73 ‘terror plotters’

Iraqi police said on Thursday they have detained 73 people accused of plotting terror attacks during the Shia Muslim festival of Ashura.

The arrests underscored fears of violence during the 10-day rituals that culminate on Friday, in a key test for Iraqi security forces ahead of a complete withdrawal of American troops in a year.

Vehicle traffic in Karbala came to a virtual standstill as pilgrims were made to walk to the shrines of the revered Imams Hussein and Abbas, while all visitors were searched at checkpoints.

“We were able to destroy 14 terrorist cells and arrest 73 people, including 37 wanted persons,” Karbala provincial council chief Mohammed al-Mussawi was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

In previous years, the holy Shiite city has been a target for Sunni Arab extremists.

Ashura marks the killing of Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.

A number of mourning rituals re-enact his martyrdom.

Some Shia men seek to recreate Hussein’s suffering by beating themselves with chains or cutting their foreheads, even though some clerics oppose the bloodletting.

His death was an event that led to the split within Islam into the two main sects of Sunnis and Shias.

Shias make up an estimated 10-15 percent of the world’s Muslim population.

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