00:00 A road accident in northern Iraq has killed at least 16 people, mostly Shia Iranian pilgrims,
00:07 as millions of people converge on the holy city of Karbala for Arbaeen, one of the world's
00:12 biggest religious gatherings.
00:13 13 people were also injured in the accident, which occurred on a road linking two cities
00:18 of Dujail and Samara in Iraq's northern Salahuddin province.
00:23 Burhan did not detail the circumstances of the crash but said most of the dead were visitors
00:27 from Iran.
00:28 Those hurt were taken to hospitals.
00:31 As per reports, two minibuses crashed into each other shortly before midnight on Friday.
00:38 Some reports suggest that one of the drivers fell asleep at the wheel, thereby leading
00:42 to the fatal crash.
00:44 Almost exactly a year ago, on September 11, 11 Iranian Shiite pilgrims and their local
00:49 driver died when their minibus collided with a truck in Babel province, south of Baghdad,
00:54 a health official said at that time.
00:57 Millions of Shiite pilgrims, many of them from Iran, head each year to the holy shrine
01:01 city of Karbala for Arbaeen, one of the world's biggest religious gatherings.
01:05 Arbaeen marks the end of the 40-day mourning period for the killing of Imam Hussein, a
01:10 founding figure in Shiite Islam and grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, by the forces of
01:14 the Caliph Yazid in 680 AD.
01:17 More than 2.6 million pilgrims have flown into Iraq or crossed its land borders since
01:22 Arbaeen began this year, according to figures issued on Friday by Iraq's Interior Ministry.
01:26 Road accidents are a recurring accompaniment to Arbaeen, which concludes Wednesday, Thursday
01:34 this year.
01:35 Conflict, neglect and endemic corruption have left oil-rich Iraq's infrastructure, including
01:39 roads and bridges, in disrepair.
01:42 Officials also say speed, mobile phone use and driving while impaired contribute to crashes.
01:47 Last year in Iraq, road accidents claimed the lives of more than 4,900 people, an average
01:52 of 13 per day, according to health ministry data.
02:07 [BLANK_AUDIO]
