Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki on Sunday ordered an investigation into the deadly clashes in the holy city of Karbala during Shiite religious celebration that killed some 52 people.
"We have formed a neutral committee to investigate the Karbala turmoil to shed light on all the details and background that led to these acts," Maliki said during a news conference in Baghdad.
The government will announce the results of the investigations soon, he said, adding that "those who are involved in these acts will be brought to justice."
Earlier in the day, Sheikh Salah al-Ubaidi, an aide for radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, threatened to take unspecified measures " if the government and local authorities in Karbala do not open a fair, neutral and quick investigation."
On August 29, Moqtada al-Sadr ordered his Mahdi Army militia to suspend its activities for six months and demanded a "fair and neutral investigation by the government so that the tragedy would not occur again."
Sadr's move came after two days of clashes between the Iraqi security forces and militiamen during a Shiite religious festival in the holy city of Karbala, some 110 km south of Baghdad, that left some 52 people killed and more than 300 others injured.
Dozens of thousands of Shiite pilgrims converged in Karbala to celebrate the 9th century birth of Muhammad al-Mahdi, the last of 12 Imam most revered by Shiite Muslims.
Source: Xinhua
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