rupted previous rituals.
On April 14, 2007, a car bomb exploded about 600 ft (180 m) from the shrine, killing 47 and wounding over 150.
On January 19, 2008, 2 million Iraqi Shia pilgrims marched through Karbala city, Iraq to commemorate Ashura. 20,000 Iraqi troops and police guarded the event amid tensions due to clashes between Iraqi troops and Shia Muslims which left 263 people dead (in Basra and Nasiriya).
Shia beliefs
Shias believe that Karbal? is one of the holiest places on Earth according to the following traditions (among others):
� The angel Gabriel narrated to Muhammad that:
Karbal?, where your grandson and his family will be martyred, is one of the most blessed and the most sacred lands on Earth and it is one of the valleys of Paradise.
� The fourth Sh?�ah Im?m, �Al? Zaynul �?bid?n narrated:
God chose the land of Karbal? as a safe and blessed sanctuary twenty-four thousand years before He created the land of the Ka�bah and chose it as a sanctuary. Verily it (Karbal?) will shine among the gardens of Paradise like a shining star shines among the stars for the people of Earth.
� In this regard, Imam Jafar Sadiq narrates, 'Allah, the Almighty, has made the dust of my ancestor's grave - Imam Husain (a.s.) as a cure for every sickness and safety from every fear.'
� It is narrated from Imam Jafar Sadiq that: "The earth of the pure and holy grave of Hussein ibn Ali is a pure and blessed musk. For those who consume it from among our Shias, it is a cure for every ailment, and if our enemy uses it then he will melt the way fat melts, when you intend to consume that pure earth recite the following supplication"
