The Battle of Karbala began on the night of 27 August 2007 and involved fighting between the Mahdi Army, who provided security for the pilgrims, and

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

(who were largely members of the Badr Organization) in Karbala,

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. Hundreds of thousands of

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...

pilgrims gathered in the city for the annual festival of

Mid-Sha'ban Mid-Sha'ban ( ar-at, نصف شعبان, niṣf šaʿbān or ''laylat niṣf min šaʿbān'' "night on the half of Sha'ban") is a Muslim holiday observed by Shia and Sunni Sufi Muslim communities on the eve of 15th of Sha'ban (i.e., the nigh ...

. Security was high as pilgrims had been killed in previous years by

suicide bombers A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...

Summary

The Battle of Karbala in August 2007 was a major clash between the Iraqi security forces and Shiite militiamen in the city of

Karbala, Iraq Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorat ...

. The battle took place during the height of the sectarian violence that followed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. It was sparked by the decision of the

Iraqi government The federal government of Iraq is defined under the current Constitution, approved in 2005, as an Islamic, democratic, federal parliamentary republic. The federal government is composed of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as w ...

to launch a crackdown on

Shiite Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...

militias in the city, which had been accused of engaging in kidnappings, assassinations, and other violent acts. The militias, led by the Mahdi Army of the radical cleric

Muqtada al-Sadr Muqtada al-Sadr ( ar, مقتدى الصدر, Muqtadā aṣ-Ṣadr; born 4 August 1974) is an Iraqi politician and militia leader. He is the leader of the Sadrist Movement and the leader of the Peace Companies, a successor to the militia he had p ...

, resisted the government's efforts to disarm them, and the situation escalated into a full-blown battle that lasted for several days. The battle resulted in the deaths of more than 50 people and demonstrated the continued challenges faced by the Iraqi government in maintaining security and stability in the country.

Battle

Shooting first started on 27 August, 2007. The

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

reacted by deploying more troops to the area. During the battle, a fight over Karbala city hall erupted between entrenched platoons of Polish and Bulgarian forces and Mahdi Army rebels. Fighting lasted for about three days and NATO forces were significantly outnumbered during the city hall battle: approximately 60 total NATO forces and about 15 Iraqi policemen against over 300 rebel irregulars. According to Polish soldiers' accounts, there was also an unknown number of Chechen mercenaries. The forces inside city hall were relieved by Polish QRF. Prime Minister

Nouri al-Maliki Nouri Kamil Muhammad-Hasan al-Maliki ( ar, نوري المالكي; born 20 June 1950), also known as Jawad al-Maliki (), is secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party and was the prime minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2014 and the vice president ...

imposed a curfew on the morning of 29 August as fighting continued. Soon after, he claimed that the situation was under control.Iraqi PM orders curfew in Karbala
, BBC, 29 August 2007. The curfew ordered pilgrims to leave their devotions early and ultimately failed to stop a third bout of shooting in the evening.

Trial

The head of the Mahdi Army in Karbala,

Ali Sharia ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 common era, CE) was the last of four Rashidun, Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was ...

, was arrested and tried over the violence. In August 2008 he was convicted and sentenced to death.Iraq militia chief condemned to death for Karbala killings
''

Agence France Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D. ...

'', 30 August 2008, accessed on 30 August 2008

References

{{coord missing, Iraq Karbala, 2007 Karbala, 2003 Karbala, 2007 Karbala, 2007 Karbala, 2007 Karbala August 2007 events in Iraq