Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

·The Iraqi authorities imposed curfew on Tuesday in the holy city of Karbala.
·The security forces also started to evacuate the pilgrims from the center of the city.
·So far, up to 10 people were killed by the clashes that initially sparked on Monday night.

    BAGHDAD, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi authorities imposed curfew on Tuesday in the holy city of Karbala, ordering dozens of thousands of Shiite pilgrims to evacuate the city, after fierce clashes between gunmen and the Iraqi police, a local police source said.

    "The security forces in Karbala ordered curfew on Tuesday until further notice after sporadic clashes continued in the holy city," the source from Karbala police told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    The security forces also started to evacuate the pilgrims from the center of the city where the clashes re-erupted in the afternoon between gunmen and the Iraqi security forces, the source said.

    So far, up to 10 people were killed, including two women, and some 50 others were injured by the clashes that initially sparked on Monday night, the source added.

    Many police vehicles, ambulances and civilian cars were destroyed by the clashes, while the town in chaos with hundreds of pilgrims were running in all directions to avoid the heavy shootout and explosions of rocket-propelled grenades near the holy shrine in the city, he said.

    On Monday night, the holy city of Karbala, some 110 km south of Baghdad, became the scene of turmoil when clashes broke out between pilgrims and security forces near the holy shrine of Imam Hussein and the adjacent shrine of his brother Imam Abbas, the police said.

    The clashes erupted after pilgrims and gunmen attacked a security checkpoint near the shrines, killing four people and wounding some 20 others, they said.

    Earlier on Tuesday, the pilgrims gathered in the city peacefully after Shiite clerics called for calmness on Mondaynight.

    Thousands of Shiite pilgrims are converging in Karbala to celebrate the 9th century birth of Muhammad al-Mahdi, the last of 12 Imam Shiites most revered.

    Shiites believe that Imam Mahdi is hidden and will never die, but he will return at the end of the time to bring peace and justice to the mankind.