Arbaeen turnout falls to about 20 million, lowest since 2021

KARBALA — About 20 million people took part in this year’s Arbaeen pilgrimage, the Imam Abbas Shrine said Tuesday, the lowest turnout it has reported since 2021 and down from more than 22 million last year.

The fall came despite a rise in foreign participation. The Security Media Cell said Sunday that 4,465,079 pilgrims had entered Iraq from abroad, above the more than 4.1 million recorded for the whole of last year’s pilgrimage. On those figures, the decline is in Iraqi participation rather than foreign, though neither body has published a domestic count.

Traffic accidents during the pilgrimage killed 46 people and injured 271, Security Media Cell head Saad Maan said at a news conference. The dead were 34 Iraqis and 12 foreign nationals; the injured 126 Iraqis and 145 foreign nationals. “We worked extensively on traffic management through guidance and traffic programs, but some accidents occurred in nine governorates,” Maan said.

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. Millions travel to his shrine in Karbala, many walking part of the route.