KARBALA, Feb 19: Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from across Iraq converged on Karbala on Saturday to mark Ashura to commemorate the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS).

This year's commemoration came just days after a Shia list swept to victory in Iraq's elections. In the capital, tens of thousands of Shia Muslims marked the death 1,300 years ago of the Prophet Mohammed's (PBUH) grandson Imam Hussain (AS). But the biggest commemorations took place in Karbala, where Stands the mausoleum of Imam Hussain. Pilgrims have been gathering there all week, mourning the martyrdom of Imam Hussain at Karbala in the seventh century.

"We are expressing our love for Imam Hussein and we say to him: 'My blood has little value compared to yours'" said Moezz Jaafar, a 35-year-old truck driver who had come to the holy city to take part in the commemorations.

Tight security was in force everywhere on Saturday, with Iraq's borders closed, and police and army units out in strength to prevent a repeat of bomb attacks in Baghdad and Karbala during last year's Ashura that killed over 170.

On Friday, insurgent attacks on Shiite targets left at least 34 dead. But the possibility of a repetition of last year's bloodbath did not prevent pilgrims from streaming to Karbala, nor did the countless police roadblocks surrounding the city.

Police estimated that hundreds of thousands were in the crowd. Blood was to be seen streaming from the heads of some pilgrims, many of whom who had stayed up all night before attending dawn prayers and then taking part in the processions that flowed past Imam Hussain's mausoleum in the centre of town. -AFP