Baghdad: Iraqi authorities banned motorcycles from Baghdad’s streets and dispatched tens of thousands of security forces to guard a Shiite pilgrimage after coordinated car bombings targeted processions across the country the day before, killing 72 people in one of the worst attacks since the U.S. troops withdrawal, media reported on Thursday.
According to reports, despite the violence, hundreds of thousands of faithful Shiites continued their marches to commemorate a revered saint.
The processions of pilgrims carrying green banners filled roads into and around the capital as they made their way toward the twin-domed shrine in Baghdad’s Kazimiyah neighborhood where Imam Moussa al-Kadhim is said to be buried.
“The events that took place yesterday will never undermine our determination to go to commemorate Imam al-Kadhim,” vowed pilgrim Sayid Ali Jassim, standing near a security checkpoint where heavily armed soldiers peered out from behind barriers.
Main Baghdad streets were closed off with concrete blocks Thursday, and soldiers at roadblocks searched pilgrims as they entered roads leading to the shrine. A senior Defense Ministry officer said motorcycles had been banned to reduce the risk that one might slip a bomb past a checkpoint, and he said at least 30,000 soldiers and police were on the streets. He spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the measures.
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