BAGHDAD — On Feb. 22, the head of the central Euphrates operations command, Qais Khalaf, said that work will continue for digging a security trench around the administrative borders of Najaf province, which Shiite Muslims consider sacred since the shrine of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Taleb (599-661), the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad and the first Shiite imam and the fourth caliph in Islam, is located there.

Najaf is roughly 180 kilometers (112 miles) south of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. In addition to being a sacred place for Shiites, who make up the majority of the Iraqi population, many senior Shiite clerics reside in Najaf, most notably Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

The province of Najaf is surrounded by the provinces of Muthanna, Diwaniyah, Babil, Karbala and Anbar; Najaf also borders Saudi Arabia. Since Ninevah province fell into the hands of the Islamic State (IS) in June 2014, authorities in Najaf have been concerned about the possibility of becoming the victim of terrorist attacks, a risk that particularly increased after IS took over Sunni-dominated Anbar province in May 2015.

That the Najaf desert is open to Saudi Arabia raises more fear of major terrorist attacks targeting the province, which is visited by millions of Shiites on several religious occasions throughout the year. This fear is believed to be justified, since IS members are able to live in desert areas, such as in Anbar province.