Hizbullah Issues Warning on Ashura

The leader of Lebanon’s militia Hizbullah addressed hundreds of thousands of Shia followers on the day of Ashura and warned that US troops will face suicide attacks if they strike Iraq. The 10th day of Moharam (the first month of the Islamic calendar) is a day of mourning for Shias throughout the world, who commemorate the death of Imam Hussein, Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, in the battle of Kerbala in modern-day Iraq in the 7th century AD. This year the day was marked by the various anti-war rallies that took place around the mourning and the processions. “We declare in no uncertain terms our rejection of the American war, its treacherous slogans and its lies about saving people and establishing democracy,” Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said. “Don’t expect the people of the region to greet you with rice and rose water, but with bullets, guns, blood and suicide operations,” he said, as the crowd gathered to mark Ashura chanted “Death to America”. Ashura commemorates the 7th century death in battle of the in Kerbala, present-day Iraq. He also welcomed the opposition of the Catholic Church and Christian religious leaders to US plans to attack Iraq, holding out the possibility of a “political alliance” to counter “US-Zionist efforts” to dominate the world. Full Story