Iraqi Muslim pilgrims perform rituals a day before the Arbaeen pilgrimage in Karbala while paying tribute to Major General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), who were assassinated in US airstrikes in the Iraqi capital Baghdad earlier this year.

Amid tightened measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Shia Muslims have been heading to Iraq's holy city of Karbala to mark Arba’een.

A video clip goes viral on social media showing an Iraqi pilgrim repeatedly kissing and expressing affection toward a picture posted along the path of the Iranian Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi General Abu-Mahdi al-Muhandis, who were assassinated in a terrorist operation ordered by US President Donald Trump.