529 pilgrims head for holy land

MUTHANNA / IraqiNews.com: Convoys including 529 pilgrims from the Muthanna province will head for the holy land in Makkah and Madinah as of tomorrow, an official from the Hajj and Umra authority said on Monday. “The first convoy of pilgrims will leave Muthanna to the holy land in Saudi Arabia through the crossing point in Sifwan in western Basra through Kuwait,” Qaysar Jasseb al-Yasseri told IraqiNews.com. “All legal and official procedures have been completed,” he added. Muthanna, 280 km south of Baghdad, is bordering Saudi Arabia. Its capital is Samawa. It was the first Iraqi province where security responsibilities were transferred from the Multi-National Force (MNF) to the Iraqis. On July 13, 2006 British, Australian, and Japanese forces handed over security responsibility for Muthanna province to Iraqi forces. Prior to 1976 it was part of the al-Diwaniya province. It also includes the ancient Sumerian ruin of Uruk, which is possibly the source of the name Iraq. SH (P)/SR 1