Muslims around the world mark Ashura

Muslims around the world marked Ashura with a voluntary day of fasting. Ashura is of particular significance to Shia Muslims who remember the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, who died in battle in 680 AD at Karbala. Some Shia men emulate the suffering of Hussein by flagellating themselves with chains or cutting their foreheads. Ashura falls on the tenth of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic lunar calender.