Baghdadis walk past stalls displaying Shiite religious
paraphernalia some of it bearing the image of the Imam Hussein
for sale at al-Mutanabbi street, central Baghdad, Iraq 24
October 2014. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Shiites will visit
the holy city of Karbala throughout the Ashura week marking the
death of Imam Hussein, grandson of prophet Mohammad, celebrated
on the tenth day of the Muslim month of Muharram starting 25
October 2014, in preparation for which the Iraqi security
authorities have launched a security operation to protect
Karbala during the celebrations at a time when Shiites in Iraq
have been increasingly targeted by attacks linked to the ongoing
fight in Iraq between militants from the group calling itslef
the Islamic State (IS) and the Iraqi security services backed by
Shiite militias and airstrikes from the international anti-IS
coalition.