(8 Mar 2007) SHOTLIST
Baghdad's Dora neighbourhood
1. Various crowds of Shiite pilgrims heading off on foot to the holy shrine of Imam Hussein in Karbala
2. Pilgrims carrying religious flags
3. Wide of pilgrims
4. UPSOUND: gunfire, pilgrims running in panic
5. UPSOUND: gunfire, two people running, cars driving away
6. UPSOUND: gunfire, various of cars driving away
7. Helicopter flying overhead
8. Security at scene
Karbala
9. People beating drums as others re-enact 'Umayyads', the foes of Imam Hussein, in costume
10. Mid of procession
12. Model of Imam Hussein's bloodied head and model of Hussein's son on cart
13. Models of heads of Imam Hussein and his followers, after they were beheaded in a battle with Umayyads in A.D. 680
14. Women beating chests and heads as they head off to holy shrine of Imam Hussein
15. Young men beating drums, cymbals
16. Various of people flagellating themselves with chains with holy shrine of Imam Hussein in background
STORYLINE
Attacks on Shiite pilgrims showed no sign of easing in Iraq on Thursday as they continued to stream toward a Muslim shrine in Baghdad for celebrations marking the end of the Arbaeen, 40-day mourning period after the date of the death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson.
Gunfire could be heard in Baghdad's Dora neighbourhood as pilgrims were heading to Karbala, 100 kilometres (62 miles) south of Baghdad.
Meanwhile in Karbala, Shiite celebrations marking the end of the Arbaeen reached their peak.
In large-scale processions and ceremonies, pilgrims beat their chest and flagellated themselves to the beat of drums in honour of Imam Hussein.
Others marked the rites, called Arbaeen, by dressing up in costume to tell the story of the saint's last days.
Imam Hussein died in the battle of Karbala in A.D. 680. and is revered as a saint by Shiites.
According to faith, he was massacred along with about 70 followers by an army of Umayyads, their rivals for leadership of the Muslim community.
The battle cemented a schism in Islam between Shiites and Sunnis, a division that has spiralled in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 and in particular since the 22 February 2006 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra.
Thousands of pilgrims, some on foot, have been pouring to Karbala since last Sunday.
It is considered Iraq's second holiest Shiite city after Najaf, which is 70 kilometres (45 miles) to the southeast.
The celebrations have been marred by violence since the start, with Shiite pilgrims coming under several attacks.
In the deadliest incident, two suicide bombers let off bombs among pilgrims lining up at a checkpoint in Hillah on Tuesday, killing at least 120 people and wounding about 190.
The Hillah bombings and other attacks on Shiites have been blamed on Sunni insurgents, trying to destabilise Iraq's Shiite-dominated government and push the country towards civil war.
Shiite Muslims in Iraq will end their mourning on this occasion next Saturday.
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