Shiite pilgrims swarm to shrine

The U.S. military announced the deaths of two U.S. Marines on Tuesday.

BAGHDAD (AP) — A drum beat reverberated through northwest Baghdad. Behind it came millions of pilgrims’ footsteps, footsteps in a display of Shiite religious fervor and political strength.

Hundreds of thousands of faithful descended upon the Shiite enclave of Kazimiyah on Thursday, flogging themselves and chanting Koranic verse to the beat of a lone drummer propelling them toward Baghdad’s holiest Shiite shrine.

In 115-degree heat, the pilgrims — Iraqi officials said there were 3 million of them — snaked toward the gold-domed Imam al-Kadhim shrine, built on the spot where an eighth-century Shiite saint is believed to be buried.

The drummer banged out a rhythm for prayers, and cries of agony rose from black-clad men whipping themselves. A toddler riding on her mother’s shoulders held her hands to her ears.

Security overwhelmed

The crowd was no match for Iraqi security forces, who erected additional checkpoints to frisk pedestrians. At least one checkpoint was completely overrun by pilgrims, the flimsy metal frame of a guard booth carried away by a sea of black abayas and green headbands.

At one point, a sole Iraqi soldier stood atop a concrete barrier, screaming at the crowd to wait in line. He eventually climbed down and sought refuge in a muddy drainage ditch, as a wave of mourners flooded his post.

Baby strollers and wheelchairs carrying disabled pilgrims were hoisted over security barriers and handed to family members inside the cordon.

Kadhim Ali al-Kadhim, a 66-year-old Kazimiyah resident named after the shrine, shrugged his shoulders when asked about the inadequate security.

“Ultimately, it’s up to God. But if I’m lucky I’ll get out of here alive,” he said.

Only scattered strikes by Sunni insurgents marred the day, which was held amid tight security to avoid the attacks that have occurred during past gatherings.

“Long live Muqtada!” some pilgrims shouted as they paraded toward the Imam al-Kadhim shrine, referring to radical Shiite leader Muqtada al Sadr, whose Mahdi army is accused of death squad attacks. “May God kill his enemies!”

Separately, the U.S. military announced two Marines had died in Anbar province west of Baghdad — one in fighting and the other in a noncombat incident. Both died Tuesday.

In addition, two British soldiers were killed early Thursday by a roadside bomb in southern Iraq, north of the Rumaylah oil fields, the Ministry of Defense said.