"Karbala will be 100 percent protected by Iraqis, with no participation
from American forces unlike in previous years," Iraq Army Gen. Othman Al
Ghanimi said.
Al Ghanimi, commander of Karbala and four other provinces in central
Iraq, said 28,000 troops were protecting Karbala. He said another 7,000
soldiers were on alert to reinforce the security operation.
A leading challenge of the operation was to prevent Al Qaida suicide
strikes. Officials said the military deployed 600 women officers to search
females for explosives.
In September, the U.S. military withdrew the last combat troops
from Iraq. Since then, Washington has overseen a mentoring and training
program, which enabled American troops to join Iraqi security operations.
Officials said the Baghdad government banned all U.S. participation in
the Karbala mission, expected to attract two million pilgrims. They said the
U.S. military would not send troops or even aircraft for surveillance.
"The Americans are not participating in anything this year," Karbala
police spokesman Maj. Alaa Abbas said.
So far, Al Qaida has not attacked Karbala. But Islamic insurgents were
bombing Shi'ite ceremonies in other parts of Iraq, including the Diyala
province.
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