Tehran Times � The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) will dispatch 2,000 health practitioners to Iraq to offer medical treatment and health care services to Arbaeen pilgrims, Mohammad Taghi Helisaz, an official with the IRCS, has said.

Arbaeen pilgrimage also known as Arbaeen trek, a distinctively Shia spiritual exercise, is an epic journey gathering Shias as well as Sunnis, even Christians and Zoroastrians, etc. from various nationalities altogether walking towards the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) commemorating the 40th day of his martyrdom in the battle of Karbala, in 680 AD.

The IRCS team will be accompanied by medical specialists, including orthopedists, cardiologists, gynecologists, pediatricians, neurologists and psychiatrists, he noted, IRNA reported on Saturday.

This year the IRCS offers services to pilgrims in two forms of mobile health units and medical clinics, which are connected to a coherent communication network and serve as a comprehensive health center, he explained.

�Some 160 tons of medications and medical equipment will be dispatched to Karbala, along with 8 ambulance buses and 40 ambulances,� he stated.

ISNA reported on Thursday that some 181,000 pilgrims have so far registered to participate in the Arbaeen trek. Last year about 1.8 million Iranians took part in the ceremony.