A landside has left some dead, some wounded and some missing in Iraq. BBC NEWS reports:
On Saturday, an earth mound adjacent to the Qattarat al-Imam Ali shrine gave way as a result of moisture saturation.
The landslide hit the ceiling of the shrine, which then collapsed on to visitors.
"Any mistake could lead to further collapses," said Abdelrahman Jawdat, a civil defence spokesman.
Between six and eight pilgrims are trapped in the shrine, civil defence spokesman Nawas Sabah Shaker said.
Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Abdelwahed, reporting from the capital Baghdad, said many worshippers had gathered at the shrine during the Shia Muslim holy month of Muharram.
“Heavy machinery was brought to the scene including bulldozers and diggers,” he said. “Family members are standing by, waiting for any news about their loved ones.”
REUTERS notes that six people have now been rescued from the the collapse. AFP notes that five corpses have also been removed. Sinana Mahmoud (THE NATIONAL) offers this background, "For Shiites, the site is a revered one. They say that when the fourth Caliph Imam Ali, the Prophet Mohammed’s cousin and son-in-law, was on his way to the Battle of Siffin in 657 AD (37 Hijri) against Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, the rebellious governor of Syria, his army was thirsty so he removed a huge and heavy rock to reveal a water spring."
