Pilgrims walk toward Karbala carrying green flags during the annual Arbaeen pilgrimage in Iraq
Fifteen years for man convicted of planning attacks on Arbaeen pilgrims
KARBALA — The Karbala Criminal Court has sentenced an Islamic State member to 15 years in prison for planning attacks on pilgrims during this year’s Arbaeen, the judiciary said.
He had planned to target pilgrims and had promoted the group’s ideology on social media and communicated with other members while planning attacks in Karbala and Najaf, according to the statement, which gave no detail of the intended targets, the weapons involved or how far the plots had progressed. The sentence was issued under the Anti-Terrorism Law.
About 20 million people took part in this year’s pilgrimage, the Imam Abbas Shrine said, the lowest turnout it has reported since 2021.