TEHRAN- Huge processions have been held in the Iraqi holy city of Karbala as millions of mourners commemorated Arba’een, the 40th day after the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (PBUH), the third Shia Imam.

Images showed tens of thousands of pilgrims descending upon the shrine of Imam Hussein in Karbala as Araba’een culminated on Saturday.

Starting since a few days before Arba’een, hundreds of different religious mourning processions, usually representing different communities and tribes of pilgrims from Iraq and around the world, passed by the golden-domed shrines of Imam Hussein and his half-brother Abbas ibn Ali (PBUH).

The pilgrims mourned and chanted slogans commemorating Imam Hussein's martyrdom along the way.

Due to the large amount of pilgrims present during the ceremonies, processions usually take several hours to enter and exit the areas adjacent to the shrines.

The ceremonies in Karbala came as pilgrims flocked to the holy city for more than two weeks, many of whom trekked about 70 kilometers northward from the holy city of Najaf in a symbolic gesture honoring Imam Hussein.

According to Press TV, Religious processions and symbolic marches were also held across different cities in Iran marking Arba’een on Saturday.