-- Baghdad -- More than one million Shiite faithful — some flogging themselves with iron chains or cutting their foreheads with swords — are expected to walk Thursday toward the mosque, the shrine of an 8th century saint, Imam al-Kadhim, in the northern Kazimiyah neighborhood.Of course, there have been glitches in the past
The self-flagellation is a grieving ritual banned under Saddam Hussein. Since his ouster in the 2003 U.S. invasion, Shiite political parties have encouraged huge turnouts at such religious festivals to display their power in the new Iraq.
-- BAGHDAD (Reuters) -- At least 20 people died and 300 were hurt in Baghdad on Sunday after insurgents, including roof-top snipers, ambushed pilgrims gathering in their hundreds of thousands for a sacred Shi'ite festival.
Merely the fear of violence — with a rumor that a suicide bomber had been seen — sparked a stampede last year in which 1,000 people died.
Police had set up protected corridors to the shrine and urged people to stick to these designated routes. But with huge numbers cramming the roads, many tried to find short cuts and got ambushed instead.
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