A senior official at Hazrat Abbas (AS) shrine, Karbala, confirmed to the Press TV website that at least 21.48 million Muslims from dozens of countries converged on Karbala to commemorate Arba’een, the 40th day after the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed (PUBH) and the third Shia Imam.
"The total number of Arba’een pilgrims... reached 21,480,525", said the institution that manages the Abbas mausoleum and is responsible for the count.
Among them were about 3.5 million Iranian pilgrims, according to official figures reported in Tehran.
Arba’een is one of the world's biggest religious gatherings and a major event for Muslims.
Pilgrims from Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, and many others visited the Iraqi city, located about 100 kilometers (62 miles) southwest of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.
Pilgrims traveled to the holy city to have a chance to touch the gilded grille that surrounds Imam Hussein (AS)’s tomb and slip messages through the bars.
They carried their belongings in backpacks or bags perched on their heads as they moved toward Karbala on foot from different directions.
Imam Hussein and his brother Abbas ibn Ali are buried in two enormous mausoleums facing each other in Karbala.
This year, the events have included prominent displays of Palestinian flags by pilgrims amid Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.
Israel launched its brutal war on Gaza on October 7 last year after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas carried out a historic operation against the usurping regime in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
Since the start of the aggression, the Israeli regime has killed at least 40,334 Palestinians, mostly women and children. Another 93,356 Palestinians have sustained injuries as well.