By Xinhua
Baghdad : The Iraqi authorities imposed curfew Tuesday in the holy city of Karbala, ordering thousands of Shia pilgrims to evacuate the city, after fierce clashes between gunmen and the Iraqi police, a local police source said.
“The security forces in Karbala ordered curfew Tuesday until further notice after sporadic clashes continued in the holy city,” the source from Karbala police told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The security forces also started to evacuate the pilgrims from the centre of the city where the clashes re-erupted in the afternoon between gunmen and the Iraqi security forces, the source said.
So far, up to 10 people were killed, including two women, and some 50 others were injured in the clashes that initially sparked Monday night, the source added.
Many police vehicles, ambulances and civilian cars were destroyed by the clashes, while the city was in chaos with hundreds of pilgrims running in all directions to avoid the shootout and explosions of rocket-propelled grenades near the holy shrine, he said.
On Monday night, the holy city of Karbala, some 110 km south of Baghdad, became the scene of turmoil when clashes broke out between pilgrims and security forces near the holy shrine of Imam Hussein and the adjacent shrine of his brother Imam Abbas, the police said.
The clashes erupted after pilgrims and gunmen attacked a security checkpoint near the shrines, killing four people and wounding some 20 others, they said.
Earlier on Tuesday, the pilgrims gathered in the city peacefully after Shia clerics called for calm Monday night.
Thousands of Shia pilgrims are converging to Karbala to celebrate the 9th century birth of Muhammad al-Mahdi, the last of the 12 Imams.
Shias believe that Imam Mahdi is hidden and will never die, but he will return to bring peace and justice to the mankind.