ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The President of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Nechirvan Barzani, extended his condolences to the families affected by the tragic accident in Iraq’s Karbala, offering the Kurdistan Region’s readiness to help.
At least 31 pilgrims died, and another 100 were injured during a religious ritual in Iraq’s southern city of Karbala on Tuesday.
Read More: Over 130 casualties during Shia religious ritual in Iraq's Karbala
During one of the rituals inside the shrine of Imam Hussein called the “Tweireej run,” the roof of a basement collapsed leading to the deaths and injuries of dozens, sources said.
According to a statement by Iraq’s Ministry of Health, initial reports indicated that 31 people died and over 100 more were injured. The ministry said 10 of the wounded are in critical condition.
In a statement on the KRG Presidency’s website, President Barzani expressed the Kurdistan Region’s readiness to receive the victims.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of the incident that took place today in Karbala as a result of the crowd of visitors participating in the Ashura ceremony,” he said in the statement.
President Barzani also expressed the KRG’s “deep sorrow” for the tragedy and said the autonomous Kurdish region is prepared “to provide all kinds of medical assistance and receive the wounded.”
The “Tweireej run” is considered one of the largest gatherings of Shia Muslims in the world. The ritual is conducted annually on the 10th day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar.
Shia Muslims across the world participate in religious ceremonies on Ashura—a day where Shias mourn the killing of Imam Hussein in the seventh century.