In Karbala, hidden from the tens of thousands of Shiite pilgrims who continue to visit the burial site of their saint Imam Hussein and that of his half brother Abbas, the Iraqi Army and the police, assisted by thousands of new volunteers, have started to build defensive rings around the city, officials say.
“It is only a matter of time before they try to attack us,” said General Ali, who is in charge of Karbala, Najaf and Diwaniya Provinces.
In his heavily guarded command post near the shrines, machine guns and body armor stood at the ready. A group of Iraqi Special Forces soldiers was on standby in one of the adjacent rooms.
M1 Abrams tanks, helicopters and cannons had been deployed in the desert, as had a battalion of fanatical volunteers, called “the chosen ones,” General Ali said in an interview on Tuesday, before the strategic desert town was taken by ISIS.
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