KARBALA CELEBRATES SECURE SHABANIYAH

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 002643 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/18/2018 TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL SOCI KISL IZ SUBJECT: KARBALA CELEBRATES SECURE SHABANIYAH REF: BAGHDAD 2492 Classified By: Gregory D'Elia for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). This is a PRT Karbala reporting cable. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Karbala officials and residents alike are breathing a sigh of relief after the annual Shabaniyah observance, which culminated in the early morning hours on September 17, passed without incident within the province (although violence was recorded in other provinces among pilgrims en route). As detailed in reftel, the provincial and national governments exhibited a massive security presence here aimed at preventing the deadly violence that marred last year's Shabaniyah. Karbala authorities used the beefed-up security presence to arrest 'wanted' individuals at checkpoints and carry out raids in the rural areas of the province. End summary. Celebratory Mood -------------- ¶2. (C) From FOB Husayniyah, PRT officers were able to see and hear crowds of pilgrims walking along a nearby street toward the shrines of Imam Husayn and Imam Abbas in downtown Karbala. Beneath a partial lunar eclipse they marched through the night, shouting religious slogans in Arabic and Farsi; more than half of the estimated one million pilgrims are believed to have come from Iran. Some carried banners and posters picturing current and former imams. Security contacts report that all such items were seized at checkpoints near the city center. The party atmosphere did not appear dampened by the deadly suicide bombings striking pilgrims en route from other parts of the country. These include the August 14 attack in Latifiyah, Babil Province, reportedly by elements of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI),which killed 19 and injured 99; and the August 16 blast in the Sha'ab neighborhood of northern Baghdad, which killed three people. ¶3. (SBU) Clearly in a celebratory mood, Karbala's Iraqi Police (IP) commander, MG Ra'ad Shaker Jawdat, played host on August 17 to Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani. Al-Bolani made a quick visit to the Imam Husayn shrine and praised the cooperation of national and provincial security forces in preventing violence in Karbala. For his part, Ra'ad announced on Karbala Television on the morning of August 17 that local IP forces apprehended an undetermined number of "Arab terrorists" who had attempted to sneak into the province to attack pilgrims. He did not specify whether the individuals were Iraqis or foreigners. Later in the day, the Ra'ad announced that 99 wanted individuals had been detained at checkpoints throughout the province. He also announced seizure of an IED manufacturing factory in the northern part of the province. Comment -------------- ¶4. (C) The importance provincial officials attached to having a violence-free Shabaniyah in Karbala this year cannot be overstated. Last year's debacle left them feeling -- in the words of Governor Akeel al-Khazali -- like "a donkey at the horse race" of Iraqi reconciliation. All senior provincial officials were required by the Governor to remain in-town, and on-call, during the 10 days leading up to August 17, and the strain this caused was evident in our interactions with several of them. Now that Shabaniyah officially has ended (although it will take several days for pilgrims to clear out of Karbala),many of these officials -- including Akeel, Ra'ad, the Acting Provincial Council Chairman, and others -- tell us they will be on leave until the beginning of Ramadan. End comment. CROCKER