Nearly 2.9 million foreign pilgrims have entered Iraq for Arbaeen

BAGHDAD — A total of 2,887,305 foreign pilgrims entered Iraq between the first day of Muharram and Wednesday night to take part in Arbaeen, the Security Media Cell said Thursday, with arrivals continuing.

The security and service plan remains in effect in coordination with security, service and support agencies to keep pilgrims moving at border crossings and on main routes, it said. Forces are operating under plans overseen by the Higher Committee for Mass Pilgrimages, which is expanding organizational and service measures as arrivals rise.

Two million Iranian pilgrims have crossed into Iraq and the season has yet to peak, Iran’s ambassador Mohammad Kazem al-Sadeq said Wednesday at the Shalamcheh crossing, where a missile strike killed two people and wounded 11 earlier this month. At al-Mundhiriyah in Diyala, arriving Iranians said the conflict with the United States had not changed their plans. “The war did not affect my decision to come,” said Zahra Shahvardi, from Tehran. “The only motivation is visiting Imam Hussein.”

The World Health Organization has warned of a serious heat risk to pilgrims, projecting daytime temperatures around 45°C along the routes to Karbala and Najaf.

Arbaeen falls on the 40th day after Ashura, marking the killing of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in 680. More than 22 million took part last year, while Najaf authorities said 17 million entered that governorate.