Baghdad (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Baghdad and Teheran have signed an agreement to facilitate the pilgrimage of 15,000 Iranians per week to the Iraqi cities of Kerbala anad Najaf, Shi'ite holy sites. The governor of Kerbala, Akil Al Khazaali, made the announcement on Sunday, April 24, to Agence France Presse: "We have reached an agreement with Iranian authorities to receive, in the best conditions of security, 15,000 Iranian pilgrims per week." Khazaali was part of the delegation that went to Iran with Iraqi Premier Al Jafaari from July 16 to 18. "Buses carrying pilgrims will be escorted by police. Their hotels and parking lots will also be monitored," he added.
During Saddam Hussein's regime, Iranian pilgrims were not allowed to travel to Iraq to visit the holy cities of Shi'ite Islam. With Saddam's fall, a large number of Iranians have been able to enter Iraq and many pilgrims were freed from Iraqi jails. After the killing of 66 pilgrims between Najaf and Kerbala in December 2004, the Iranian government closed the border for exit to Iraq: for this reason, this joint initiative between the two governments takes on a particular significance. Such tourism is expected to generate hundreds of thousands of euros in income over coming months.
The tomb of Ali, Mohammed's cousin and son-in-law, is located in Najaf, 160 km south of Baghdad. Hussein, son of Ali and third imam, is buried in Kerbala, 110 km south of the capital. Many other subsequent imams were buried in Samarra, 125 km north of Baghdad, today one of the breeding-grounds of Sunni insurrection. Located in the capital city, the Kazimiya shrine houses the tombs of two other Shi'ite imams.