KARBALA, Iraq, 7 March 2004 — Bombings have strengthened militiaman Maitham Shakir’s resolve to protect Karbala but his knife is powerless against attacks that many fear will devastate the city again.
Just after the first Friday prayers since bombings killed at least 110 people in Karbala this week, Shakir and other members of the Badr Brigades militia vowed to fight terrorism with their inadequate weapons.
“I don’t have a gun. I have to fight with this,” he said, pulling out a blade from his baggy trousers.
A series of blasts that ripped through throngs of Shiites as they were performing their Ashoura ritual scattered body parts across Shiite’s holiest shrines and left officials wondering how they could ease a security nightmare.
“The bombings were only the beginning,” Sheikh Maythim Al-Zaudi, an official in a committee to protect shrines in Karbala, told Reuters.
“We are also relying on tribes and influential families to help us divide up the city. Each of them will be responsible for protecting their areas and manning checkpoints,” he said.
A similar attack in Baghdad killed 71 people. The head of Iraq’s Governing Council said US authorities should have done more to prevent the suicide attacks and bombs.
“I put the blame on the authorities,” Mohammed Bahr Al-Uloum said. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said neither his troops nor Iraqi security forces could completely protect Iraqis from devastating attacks.
About 1,000 police and militia groups handle security in Karbala, a city of about 500,000 which thrives on pilgrims who flock to the holy sites.
The city seemed subdued on Friday as Shiite cleric Abdel-Mahdi Al-Karbalaee delivered an emotional sermon at the Imam Hussein shrine cautioning his followers that they should cling to their faith to fight suicide bombers.
One man stood up and said those who carried out the bombings should be killed. Emotions were running high but nobody seemed to know how Karbala could protect itself.
Karbala residents ran into the streets in panic on Thursday night when rumors spread that a man was wandering around with explosives strapped to his waist, said Zaudi.
Outside his office in a makeshift trailer, Karbala residents whose relatives have been missing since the blasts lined up seeking information on their fate.
Nearby, Iraqi police stood outside a shrine as worshipers were frisked for weapons. But Iraqis said they had no confidence they could improve security.
“Yesterday we saw two cars from Anbar province with no license plates and we alerted the police to stop them but they did nothing,” said Kays Abbas, referring to a province of Iraq that is home to many anti-American guerrillas.
What militia groups like the Badr Brigades lack in firepower, they make up in organization and fury. After fleeing from Saddam Hussein’s regime for Iran, they returned to Iraq after the US-led invasion toppled the Iraqi dictator, vying for a role.
“Even if we had no weapons at all we will protect our country,” said Abu Mukhayra Al-Karbalaee, commander of a small Badr Brigades unit, holding a walkie-talkie. “If we have the chance we will kill the people behind these bombings.”
It seems some of the pilgrims who once flocked to Karbala don’t think that will happen soon.
“Pilgrims used to buy 100 small suitcases from me everyday. Now it dropped down to 30 since the attacks. A lot of them left. There is just no security,” said trader Haydar Hamid.
