Topic - Najaf

Najaf (; BGN: An Najaf) is a city in Iraq about 160 km (roughly 100 miles) south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 560,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate. It is widely considered the third holiest city of Shi'a Islam and the center of Shia political power in Iraq. The city is widely respected for housing the Imam Ali Shrine, and hosts millions of pilgrims yearly. - Source: Wikipedia

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A photo released by the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani Office shows the meeting between Pope Francis, right, and Shiite Muslim leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, Iraq, Saturday, March 6, 2021. Pope Francis arrived in Iraq on Friday to urge the country's dwindling number of Christians to stay put and help rebuild the country after years of war and persecution, brushing aside the coronavirus pandemic and security concerns to make his first-ever papal visit. (AP Photo)

Pope, top Iraq Shiite cleric hold historic, symbolic meeting

By Nicole Winfield and Qassim Abdul-Zahra - Associated Press

A member of the Shiite Imam Ali brigades militia prays by a body of a coronavirus victim during a funeral at the new Wadi al-Salam cemetery near Najaf, Iraq, Monday, July 20, 2020. A special burial ground near the Wadi al-Salam cemetery has been created specifically for COVID-19 victims since rejections of such burials have continued in Baghdad cemeteries and elsewhere in Iraq. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)

AP PHOTOS: Lonely burials for virus victims in Iraq’s Najaf

By ANMAR KHALIL - Associated Press

FILE - In this Friday, March 27, 2020 file photo, municipality workers bury the body of coronavirus victim on the outskirts of Herat province west of Kabul, Afghanistan. Across the Middle East and parts of South Asia, bereaved families have faced traumatic restrictions on burying their dead amid the pandemic. Religion and customs that require speedy burials in the largely Muslim region have clashed with fears of COVID-19 contagion and government-mandated lockdowns. (AP Photo/Hamed Sarfarazi, File)

Mideastern burial traditions clash with fears of contagion

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and SAMYA KULLAB - Associated Press

In this Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020, Shiite seminary students attend a lecture at &quot;Hawza&quot; seminary, in the holy shrine of Imam Ali, the son-in-law, and cousin of the Prophet Muhammad and the first Imam of the Shiites, in Najaf, Iraq. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, turns 90 this year, and when he recently had surgery it sent chills around the country and beyond. What happens when al-Sistani is gone? Iran is likely to try to exploit the void to gain followers among Iraq’s Shiites. Standing in its way is the Hawza, the centuries-old institution of religious learning which al-Sistani heads and which follows its own tradition-bound rules. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Aging Shiite cleric a powerhouse in Iraq. What comes after?

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and MARIAM FAM - Associated Press

In this Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020 photo, women shop for Valentine's Day gifts in Najaf, Iraq. In recent years, Valentine's in Najaf has emerged as a field of contention. It pitted revelers who see in it harmless fun and personal freedom advocates against conservatives who view it as sacrilege--a foreign celebration that has no place in a holy city like Najaf. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)

Valentine’s Day brings love and some worry in Iraq holy city

By MARIAM FAM - Associated Press

Security forces and civilians gather near the burned Iranian consulate in Najaf, Iraq, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2019. An Iraqi police official says anti-government protesters have burned down the Iranian consulate in southern Iraq late Wednesday. Protesters torched the Iranian consulate building in the holy city of Najaf, the seat of the country's Shiite religious authority. Iranian staff working in the consulate escaped through the back door and were not harmed. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)

27 Iraqi protesters shot dead in 24 hours, violence spirals

By Samya Kullab and Murtada Faraj - Associated Press

A anti-government protester prepares to throw a molotov cocktail toward security forces during clashes on Rasheed Street in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2019. Anti-government protests have gripped Iraq since Oct. 1, when thousands took to the streets in Baghdad and the predominantly Shiite south. The largely leaderless movement is accusing the government of being hopelessly corrupt, and also decries Iran's growing influence in Iraqi state affairs. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

The Latest: Death toll of Iraqi protesters at 40 in 24 hours

By MURTADA FARAJ - Associated Press