Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi condoled with the Iraqi government and nation over a tragic incident in the Arab country’s holy city of Karbala where the collapse of a walkway killed 36 pilgrims and lefts dozens injured. RNA - Mousavi, in a statement on Tuesday, voiced Iran’s sorrows over the incident, and offered sympathies and solidarity with the Iraqi nation, specially the families of the deceased pilgrims and wished speedy recovery for tens of people wounded in this tragic incident.
Iraqi Health Ministry Spokesman Saif al-Badr announced in a statement on Tuesday that 36 pilgrims lost their lives and dozens more sustained injuries.
The deadly rush began when part of a walkway collapsed during a procession, causing mass panic among worshippers.
Ashura is the 10th day of the lunar month of Muharram and is the day when the third Shia Imam and the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Imam Hussein (PBUH), and 72 of his companions were martyred in Karbala, in southern Iraq, in 680 AD by the army of the Umayyad caliph, Yazid I.
Ashura, which is the culmination of a 10-day annual mourning period in Muharram, is also commemorated by Shia Muslims in many countries across the world, including prominently in Iran.
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