Sadr deploys hundreds of his militia to protect Shiite shrine north of Baghdad
By Rudaw 6 hours ago
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has ordered the deployment of 600 militiamen to the town of Balad north of Baghdad just days after an attack by extremist militants on a shrine killed more than 40 people.
“We aim to protect the sacred religious shrines, and our presence in this town is in coordination with the government,” said Salim Aish, a Shiite militia commander of Saraya al-Salam, the military wing of Sadr’s Mahdi army. “We hope there is mutual understanding between our forces based here and local authorities.”
A group of Islamic State (ISIS) militants stormed the shrine of Sayed Mohammed Ali al-Hadi last week. A suicide bomber blew himself inside the shrine while another detonated his explosives among the fleeing worshipers.
40 people were killed and more than 70 others were injured.
“In fact this incident grieved us,” said a Shiite visitor to the shrine. “Any Muslim human being is unhappy with what happened here,”
Local officials say last week’s attack has not decreased the number of visitors to the shrine of al-Hadi who is a descendent of Prophet Muhammed.
Shiite militia groups have fought ISIS alongside the Iraqi army across the country in the last two years. With ISIS on the run in some parts of Iraq the militiamen have been tasked with maintaining security in some areas particularly Shiite shrines.
“I tell Shiites in the world, do your best to help the Iraqi Shiites, whether it is through fundraising or visiting the country,” said an Iranian Shiite visitor at the shrine.
Iraq is home of the Shiite faith’s most important sites such as the shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf and Imam Hussein in Karbala.
The shrines and their visitors have been the target of bombings by extremist Sunni groups in the decade since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime.
Shiites bring the coffin or their dead to such holy shrines for blessing before burial.
