Security tight for Iraq pilgrimage

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Source: Al Jazeera

Thousands of Muslim pilgrims are setting off for the Iraqi city of Karbala along streets closed to traffic to prevent bomb attacks.

But despite a large military and police presence along the route from Shia districts of Baghdad, one woman was killed and six others wounded in a drive-by shooting on Sunday in the Dura neighbourhood.
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However, on Sunday, it was largely peaceful as men and women set off from Shia districts of the capital to walk to Karbala, 110km to the south.
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Pilgrims have been forbidden from carrying mobile phones, which can be used to detonate bombs, and large bags which could conceal weapons, Brigadier-General Qassim al-Mousawi, Baghdad chief military spokesman, said.


Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/111CAC91-AEBD-404F-B92E-2FC3681DC8E1.htm

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"The road is safe. It is a mercy from God", a female pilgrim is reported to have said.