Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Shiites marked Friday their biggest Ashoura holiday, as fights between a violent cult and the police forces broke out. Photo by CNN
Clashes between the Iraqi army and members of a Shiite sect claimed the lives of dozens of people in the southern Iraqi cities of Basra and Nasiriya.
More than 50 people were killed and 70 were wounded Friday when fighting broke out between security forces and followers of the Ahmed al-Hasani al-Yamani violent messianic cult, CNN reported.
The leader of the cult in Basra, Abu Mustapha Ansari, was reportedly killed in the fighting.
Violence broke out when cultists attacked police forces and fellow Shiites, marking Shiite Islam's biggest Ashoura holiday.
About two million worshippers are expected to gather in the holy city of Kerbala for the closure of Ashura on Saturday.
In order to prevent attacks, the Iraqi authorities stopped car traffic in most of the country.