Clashes reported in holy Iraqi city of Kerbala

KERBALA, Iraq, Aug 27 (Reuters) Clashes erupted today in Iraq's Shi'ite city of Kerbala where tens of thousands of pilgrims have gathered for one of the holiest days on the Shi'ite Muslim calendar, a Reuters photographer said.

The photographer said it was not clear who was shooting at whom, but he had seen at least one body lying in the street near his hotel.

He said a group of men had tried to storm his hotel to seize cameras from journalists inside.

Kerbala's police chief, Brigadier-General Raid Shakir, has said that 10,000 police officers and 5,000 Iraqi soldiers have been deployed to guard the city for the ceremony on Tuesday and Wednesday marking the 9th century birth of Muhammad al-Mahdi, the last of 12 imams Shi'ites revered as saints.

Shi'ites believe he never died and will return to save mankind.

Strict security measures are normally enforced during such religious rituals, with cars banned from the city and pilgrims body-searched before entering its precincts.

Pilgrims from Baghdad, 110 km (70 miles) to the north, and other Shi'ite cities and towns have been converging on Kerbala, mostly on foot, in the past few days.

Shi'ite pilgrimages have been a target of Sunni Arab bombers and have also served as rallying events for the country's Shi'ite majority, now running the government after decades of repression under Sunni Arab ruler Saddam Hussein.

The pilgrimage so far has been largely peaceful, with few reports of any violence.

Police said yesterday one female pilgrim was killed and six, including three children and three women, were wounded in a drive-by shooting as they passed through the mainly Sunni Doura district of southern Baghdad.

Reuters RKM VP0118