Over 34,000 personnel to take part in Najaf security plan

NAJAF / IraqiNews.com: More than 34,000 security personnel will participate in a security plan in Najaf city during the Eidul-Adha, or the Greater Bairam. “The plan aims to protect visitors to Najaf on the occasion of Eidul-Adha,” Najaf’s police chief, Maj. Gen. Abdelkareem al-Ameri, said during a press conference today. “A large number of visitors, which may reach one million, will arrive in the city during the Eid holiday,” the police chief added. Najaf, about 160 km south of Baghdad, has an estimated population of 900,600 in 2008, though this has increased significantly since 2003 due to immigration from abroad. The city is one of the holiest cities of Shiite Islam and the center of Shiite political power in Iraq. SS (P) 1