VZCZCXRO8666
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHIHL #0021/01 0461856
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 151856Z FEB 06
FM REO HILLAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0541
INFO RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD PRIORITY 0526
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEHIHL/REO HILLAH 0588

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HILLAH 000021 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  2/15/2016 
TAGS: PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: ASHURA MARKED BY GOOD SECURITY, LIMITED MILITIA PRESENCE, 
FEWER IRANIANS THAN IN PREVIOUS YEARS 
 
HILLAH 00000021  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: GARY ANDERSON, ACTING REGIONAL COORDINATOR, REO, 
AL-HILLAH, STATE. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  The annual Shi'a commemoration of Ashura in 
Karbala and other parts of South Central Iraq on February 8 and 
9 went smoothly.  Ashura begins the forty-day period of 
remembrance and mourning for the deaths in 680 A.D. of Imam 
Hussein and Imam Abbas, grandsons of the prophet Mohammed.  The 
Iraqi Police (IP) Chief of Karbala estimated that one to two 
million Shi'a Muslims made the walking pilgrimage to the Hussein 
and Abbas shrines in downtown Karbala city.  The only reported 
violent incident was a single rocket that landed outside Karbala 
city on February 9, without casualties.  Local contacts and REO 
Hillah local staff described the Iranian presence among the 
pilgrims as smaller than in the previous two years. 
 
¶2.  (C) Local contacts reported a strong Iraqi Security Force 
(ISF) presence in the city of Karbala, and that the numerous 
checkpoints in Karbala Province outside the city were largely 
manned by the IP and Iraqi Army (IA).  However, there was a 
substantial militia presence in the area around the twin shrines 
in Karbala and a nearby Sadrist office and mosque.  These were 
mainly Badr Organization and Mahdi Militia members, most of whom 
appeared to be unarmed.  The private security force attached to 
the twin shrines, which is controlled by Sistani-affiliated 
clerics, was out in force and armed with automatic weapons.  On 
the whole, local contacts judged security arrangements as 
effective and efficient.  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
LOCAL RESIDENTS JUDGE ISF SECURITY AS EFFECTIVE, EFFICIENT 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
¶3.  (SBU) Several days before Ashura, as the foot traffic was 
due to get heavy, the ISF implemented a ban on vehicle traffic 
at the Karbala Province borders.  Only official vehicles and 
those with placards from the IPs were allowed past checkpoints. 
A day or two later, a near total ban on vehicles was instituted 
for the central city area of Karbala. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Several local contacts described travel from points in 
South Central Iraq to Karbala as relatively trouble free despite 
the numerous checkpoints outside and inside Karbala Province. 
With the exception of Najaf, contacts consistently noted that 
they saw no visible militia members on the roads leading to the 
city of Karbala, with all checkpoints manned by ISF.  A 
Diwaniyah newspaper editor who made his way to Karbala stated 
that IPs were thorough in searching drivers, passengers, and 
their cars at checkpoints, and that the IPs were professional. 
A medical doctor who traveled from Diwaniyah offered that his 
trip to Karbala, which normally takes an hour and twenty 
minutes, took two hours (he drove to the edge of Karbala city 
and then walked).  He credited the smooth ride to the 
organization of the police.  The doctor said he saw people in 
civilian clothes searching travelers in Karbala, but it was not 
clear to him if they were militia.  He stated that they were not 
dressed in black, which is the typical dress for members of the 
Mahdi Militia. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Local staff noted numerous pilgrims passing through 
the city of Najaf, making their way to Karbala.  Many visited 
the Imam Ali shrine before departing for Karbala.  The ISF 
presence in Najaf was described as strong.  There was a large 
number of militia members observed at checkpoints and walking 
with groups of pilgrims.  They wore black clothing and most 
appeared to be Sadrists.  No weapons were visible.  There were 
reports of militia guarding mosques and other buildings that 
would be frequented by pilgrims in the city, and some of these 
militia members did have weapons. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
KARBALA CITY CENTER: LARGE ISF BUT ALSO MILITIA PRESENCE 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
¶6.  (C) In the central city area of Karbala, where the twin 
shrines are located, local contacts reported a highly visible 
ISF presence.  Despite the claim to the contrary by Karbala IP 
Chief Colonel Razzak Abed Ali, there was a substantial militia 
presence in central city area.  A Karbala University instructor 
stated that militias, primarily the Sadrists (Mahdi Militia) and 
the Badr Organization, were conducting searches, setting up 
impromptu checkpoints, and organizing the various processions 
heading towards the shrines.  He said that the militias tended 
not to be armed, and that no militia member who conducted a 
search of a pilgrim was armed. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) A Karbala-based REO Hillah staff member stated that 
the private security force of the twin shrines, which is 
controlled by Sistani-affiliated clerics, was dressed in black 
 
HILLAH 00000021  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
with "special badges" and carried Kalashnikov automatic rifles 
and radios.  The security force generally restricts its 
activities to the immediate area of the shrines.  He and another 
contact reported that in the vicinity of the main office of 
Moqtada Al-Sadr and its affiliated mosque (the Al-Mokhaim 
mosque), which is very close to the twin shrines, armed Sadrists 
were out in large numbers. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
PILGRIMS CHANT, CARRY FLAGS - VISIBLE IRANIAN PRESENCE SMALL 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
¶8.  (U) As they made their way to Karbala, a small number of 
male pilgrims used chains to whip themselves and draw blood from 
their backs.  Others used long knives and swords to make small 
cuts on their heads.  This was done to recall the suffering of 
Hussein and Abbas, who died in a battle in Karbala some 1,300 
years ago.  Food and water stations spaced at regular intervals, 
manned and provisioned by volunteers, provided sustenance and 
places of rest. 
 
¶9.  (U) Travelers carried large flags of green, black, red or 
other colors to signify Hussein and Abbas' suffering and their 
blood, among other things.  Four large fountains near the twin 
shrines were treated with a powder to make the water flow red, 
symbolizing the blood of the martyrs Hussein and Abbas.  REO 
local staff noted that some traveling groups carried banners, 
and shouted out chants.  The banners and chants were generally 
religious in nature, except for some chants by followers of 
Moqtada Al-Sadr and radical Shi'a cleric Mahmoud Hassani 
Al-Sarkhy, who were yelling, "We obey you Mohammed."  REO local 
staff interpreted this as a response to the cartoons of Mohammed 
that have appeared in the Danish press and elsewhere. 
 
¶10.  (U) A Karbala University instructor who made the pilgrimage 
also reported a large number of banners hanging in Karbala for 
the United Iraqi Alliance (NOTE:  It is not clear if these were 
left over from the December 15 election, or newly placed.  END 
NOTE).  He also saw several groups of pilgrims carrying banners 
for SCIRI (Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq), 
Dawa, Moqtada Al-Sadr, and Mahmoud Hassani Al-Sarkhy. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) REO local staff and other contacts described the 
visible Iranian presence among pilgrims as moderate or 
relatively low, in comparison to the past two years (NOTE:  The 
pilgrimage was not allowed under the Saddam regime.  END NOTE). 
A local staff member saw some Iranians in attendance in small 
groups scattered around the central city area, but described 
their numbers as fewer than in 2004 and 2005.  Another contact, 
the Karbala University instructor, indicated that their number 
was very low, stating that there were only "a few Iranians."  In 
Najaf, in the area around the Imam Ali shrine there were, at any 
one time, a group of 500 Iranians.  Six buses (65 passengers 
each) of Iranians were seen arriving at local hotels.  Iranians 
were also noted at local hotels and restaurants in the evenings 
in smaller groups of five to ten people.  At least some of them 
likely traveled to Karbala. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) COMMENT:  Security for Ashura is a key concern for 
pilgrims and provincial officials.  A series of car bombs during 
Ashura in 2004 killed more than 150 people.  Overall, local 
contacts seemed pleased with security arrangements this year. 
This may be a sign of gradual improvement in the capability of 
Iraqi Security Forces.  Although it was a religious event, the 
United Iraqi Alliance and its constituent parties took advantage 
of the captive audience of hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in 
Karbala to advertise themselves through the display of banners 
and signs.  This was likely done with provincial elections in 
mind, which are due to occur later this year.  END COMMENT. 
ANDERSON