Arbaeen pilgrims on foot in the mud

About 21 million Shia pilgrims from around the world gathered in the Iraqi city of Karbala on Saturday for the Arbaeen commemoration, which marks the end of the 40-day mourning period for the seventh-century killing of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad.

The annual event sees men and women from across Iraq and beyond travel to Karbala, where Imam Hussein and his brother Abbas are buried, for one of the world’s largest religious gatherings.