Shia pilgrims gather at the scene after an SUV struck a group walking toward Karbala for the Arbaeen pilgrimage in Al-Hartha district, Basra, on July 16, 2026.
Nine pilgrims killed as SUV strikes Arbaeen walkers north of Basra
BASRA — Nine Shia pilgrims were killed and 13 injured early Thursday when an SUV struck a group walking toward Karbala for the Arbaeen pilgrimage in al-Hartha district, north of Basra, a security source told 964media.
The vehicle drove into the pedestrians in the al-Murtadha neighborhood, the source said. Four of those killed were from al-Zubair district and the others from different areas. The injured suffered wounds of varying severity.
Ambulance crews and security forces took the injured to nearby hospitals, and the bodies were transferred to the forensic medicine department. Security forces arrested the driver at the scene and began legal proceedings.
Basra’s local government declared three days of official mourning.
Authorities redirected pilgrims away from the main road where the crash happened, opening an alternative route through the Abu Masjid area inside residential neighborhoods, about 3 kilometers from the main vehicle road. Security forces were deployed along the path to guide pilgrims, and vehicles were banned from the route entirely.
Arbaeen draws millions of Shia pilgrims to Iraq’s holy cities each year, with many walking long distances to Karbala, often passing through Najaf, to commemorate the death of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in 680.