Ayatollah Sistani urged strengthening security measures

Rasa - Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most revered Shiite cleric in Iraq, urged the authorities in his Friday sermon to be better prepared for the huge influx of pilgrims.

News ID: 1805

Date: 12 December 2014 - 21:26

RNA - Speaking through one of his representatives, Sheikh Abdelmahdi al-Karbalai, Ayatollah al-Sistani said a comprehensive and scientifically sound plan should be devised to move "beyond chaos and improvisation", Rasa News reports.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani also warned that the ISIL Takfiri terrorist group is threatening the holy city of Samarra.

"Iraqi troops have achieved important victories in several areas on Daesh (ISIL) elements,” the cleric’s representative, Sheikh Abdel-Mahdi al-Karbalai, said in the holy city of Karbala on Friday.

Al-Karbalai added, “But this organization is today threatening areas containing holy shrines such as Samara."

The city, located around 110 kilometers north of Baghdad, is home to the shrines of the tenth and eleventh Shia Imams, Ali al-Hadi (PBUH) and Hasan al-Askari (PBUH).

"Troops should exercise vigilance and caution as they face Daesh," al-Karbalai added.

The ISIL terrorists control some parts of Syria and Iraq.

They are engaged in crimes against humanity in the areas under their control. ISIL militants have terrorized and killed people of all communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, and Christians.

The group has in recent weeks intensified attacks on Samarra. Seizing the city would strengthen the ISIL's foothold in the north and threaten Baghdad.

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