Among those visiting Iraq for Arbaeen will also be university students and a number of Christian figures.

They will be from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia and Macedonia.

As well as taking part in the pilgrimage, they are to hold meetings with scholars and officials in the cities of Karbala and Najaf.

Arbaeen comes 40 days after Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of the third Shia Imam, Imam Hussein (AS).

Each year, a huge crowd of Shias flock to Karbala, where the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) is located, to perform mourning rites.

In the past few years, around 20 million pilgrims from all over the world took part in the mourning ceremonies in the Iraqi holy city marking Arbaeen.

Arbaeen falls on Tuesday, October 30, this year.