Iraqi Army Soldiers and Coalition forces provided security, food and water to Iraqis on a pilgrimage to Karbala, Aug. 11-18.

“The Iraqi Army is providing security with assistance from the coalition,” said Pvt. Esam Hussein Fleih, 1st Battalion, 23rd Brigade, 17th Iraqi Army Division. “People have been happy with the way we have been doing the security, and it shows with nothing bad happening during the pilgrimage.”

The pilgrims walked through Mahmudiyah on their way to the religious festival known as Shabaniyah, a celebration of the birthday of Shiite imam Mohammed al Mahdi.

“This year is very good; there are too many Soldiers out on the roads for anything dangerous to happen,” Fleih said. “It is a great combination from both Iraqi Soldiers and American Soldiers.”

In previous years, pilgrimages have been targets for criminal activity, but those threats are at a minimum with the established security in Mahmudiyah.

“The only vehicles allowed on the roads right now are coalition, Iraqi Security Forces and ambulances,” said Capt. Evan Perperis, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. “Our job is to back up the IA; they are the ones who planned out the security for the pilgrimage.”

The Soldiers are providing security over an approximately 25-kilometer stretch of road, starting in Baghdad.

“I think the IA is doing a very good job,” Perperis said. “So far we are incident free. Mahmudiyah has gone from being known as the ‘Triangle of Death’ to what it is today … I think that has a large part to do with the IA.”

MNF-I
By Pfc. Christopher McKenna
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki stepped off the first plane landing in Najaf International Airport and waved to cheering crowds, July 20.

The celebration marked the opening of a new airport, which will facilitate travel, boost business opportunities and increase tourism to the third-most-popular destination for Islamic pilgrimages.

“The Najaf airport is a starting point for competition among provinces and local governments to make extraordinary progress toward reconstruction … We were determined to face the terrorism that was about to destroy Iraq. The strong will of the federal government has fought and defeated it in all of its forms,” Maliki said when he addressed the crowd.

Members of the Iraqi army and Iraqi police maintained control over the mass of media and photographers who came to record the historic event.

Young children laughed and waved Iraqi flags. Men and women posed for pictures, hugging one another, kissing cheek-to-cheek with greetings. Musicians played enchanting melodies, and singers sang with spirit.

The capital of Najaf is considered one of the holiest cities for Shia Islam. The city is renowned as the site of the tomb of Imam Ali Talib, whom Shia consider the prophet Muhammad’s heir. The site is believed to be the third-most-popular destination for Islamic pilgrimages, after the Saudi Arabian cities of Mecca and Medina.

Additionally, the airport will employ hundreds of people from security guards to customer service representatives. The airport will also create new opportunities in the economy for hotels and restaurants, travel agencies, banks, currency exchange, even agricultural processing to feed Najaf’s new visitors. Moreover, the presence of this airport will attract businesses and investors.

“The benefits of this facility will ripple throughout the local, provincial, regional and national economy,” said Angus Simmons, of Reston, Va., team leader for Provincial Reconstruction Team Najaf.

The Najaf PRT helped facilitate construction contracts as well as linked the airport with a U.S. transportation adviser who specializes in airport management.

The new airport is part of a multi-billion dollar project led by investment firm Al-Aqeelah, based in Kuwait. The firm plans to build thousands of new homes and hotels in the city.

A total of $80 million has been committed to the airport’s construction, $50 million of it already invested in the project.

“I would say the Najaf people and the leadership here at the provincial level have a very national viewpoint on what this airport does for Iraq,” said Col. Jefforey Smith, deputy commanding general, support for Multi-National Division – Center and the 10th Mountain Division.

“About the only other way you could have gotten into this part of the country previously was by vehicle. There’s no train system that comes through here,” Smith said. “So this airport is going to be huge not only for Najaf, but … it will affect the other major cities in the province of Karbala [and others] north and west of here.”

The airport will help not only the province of Najaf prosper, but also the neighboring Karbala, Babil and Qadasiyah. Before now, the closest airport was centralized in Baghdad, hundreds of miles north of these areas. They too will take advantage of economic plans provided by the new travel.

“I think it’s a positive time—it’s a good time— to open this airport,” Smith concluded.

DVIDS
By Staff Sgt. Michel Saure
Multi-National Division – Center

For the first time since 2003, Shi’a Muslims participated in a mass pilgrimage to the holy city of Samarra July 7.

A mass celebration was held in honor of the former Shi’a Supreme Islamic Iraqi leader, Imam Sayyid Baqir al-Sadr. Thousands made the pilgrimage to Samarra to show their respect for the anniversary of Baqir’s death on this date 28 years ago.

Baqir could trace his ancestry back to the Holy Prophet Muhammad through the Seventh Imam, Imam Musa al-Kadhim. He had many followers in Iraq prior to his brutal death in 1980.

The day was full of celebration and remembrance and demonstrated that security has improved to a level that an event such as this could be held in the once precarious city of Samarra.

Iraqi Security Forces provided protection along the route from Karbala to Samarra, where over 110 buses carrying the pilgrims traveled to the northern-Iraqi city.

“At this time last year, Samarra was a city under siege by al-Qaeda criminals and criminal activity,” said Lt. Col. Thomas Hauerwas, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). “Today, Shi’a pilgrims came to the Al Asharia Shrine because of their faith in the Iraqi Security Forces and the overall security of Samarra.”

Balad, a predominately Shia city, also held a ceremony paying respect to Baqir.

A few thousand joined in the celebration there as many of the gatherers packed the Sayyid Muhammad Mosque with no incidents.

“The celebration in Balad today was marked by large crowds gathering peacefully and enjoying the day out with their families,” said Maj Timothy Brumfield, 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment executive officer. “This is largely possible due to the sharp decline in violence resulting from scores of former criminals choosing another life and reconciling with the Iraqi Government.”

MNF-I