ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION<br/> Thousands of Shi'ite Muslims gather in the Iraqi holy city of Karbala to mark the festival of Ashura.<br/> Ashura is the biggest event in the Shi'ite Muslim calendar, and Karbala is the centre of the commemoration.<br/> It marks the martyrdom of the Prophet Mohammad's grandson, Imam Hussein, in the battle of Karbala in Iraq in the year 680.<br/> In Iran, a country with a majority Shi'ite population, mourners gathered in the city of Bam and elsewhere for the customary ritual of self-flagellation.<br/> The thousands of black-clad religious followers beat their backs in time with small flails.<br/> Prayers in Bushehr were also featured on Iranian state television.<br/> Ashura this year has been marred by sectarian attacks in Afghanistan and Iraq.
