(Adds Maliki)

By Sami al-Jumaili

KERBALA, Iraq, Jan 19 (Reuters) - A major Shi'ite ritual ended peacefully in the southern city of Kerbala on Saturday after Iraqi forces imposed tight security around 2.5 million pilgrims, but attacks in the north killed nine worshippers.

Police Brigadier-General Najim Abdullah said a large group of Shi'ites had been returning from the annual Ashura religious ritual in Tal Afar, 420 km (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad, when they were hit by a Katyusha rocket that killed seven.

In northern Kirkuk, a bomb killed two Shi'ite pilgrims heading to a mosque for the ceremonies.

Police said sporadic fighting between security forces and gunmen from a messianic Shi'ite cult broke out again in the southern cities of Basra and Nassiriya on Saturday, a day after gunmen attacked worshippers and police. There was no information on casualties.

Nearly 70 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in gunbattles on Friday after gunmen from the "Soldiers of Heaven" cult launched nearly simultaneous attacks in the two cities.

In Kerbala, tight security meant there were few incidents as pilgrims thronged streets and alleyways for the end of the 10- day Ashura ritual, in which Shi'ites mourn the slaying over 1,300 years ago of the Prophet Mohammad's grandson, Imam Hussein.

Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki praised the cooperation between security forces and pilgrims in Kerbala.

Many worshippers expressed relief that the ritual was free of the bombings that have plagued past commemorations of Ashura in Kerbala. Other saw it as a sign Iraq was making progress.

"What makes me happier than finishing the rituals peacefully is seeing people from different parts of the world joining us to mark this occasion. It shows Iraq is becoming a peaceful country," said Ali Hamid, 35, from Iskandariya near Baghdad.

Imam Hussein's death in 680 entrenched the schism between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims over whom they recognised as the successors of Mohammad.

The split still sharply divides Iraq, with tens of thousands killed in sectarian fighting since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, although violence has dropped in recent months.

Among the pilgrims in Kerbala were hundreds of men wearing white robes, who marched through the streets striking their heads with swords to show their grief at the killing of Imam Hussein. Blood flowed down their robes. Others beat their chests to the sound of drums and religious chants.

BLANKET SECURITY

Officials said 25,000 Iraqi police and soldiers were deployed across Kerbala, 110 km (70 miles) south of Baghdad. Iraqi helicopters circled overhead while pilgrims were frisked up to 10 times before they could reach the shrines of Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas in the heart of its Old City.

Crowds, including black-clad mourners flagellating themselves, jammed into a courtyard that links the two mosques.

Ashura has been a target in the past for Sunni Islamist al Qaeda militants who view Shi'ites, a majority in Iraq but a minority in the Muslim world, as heretics.

Two suicide bombers killed six policemen and wounded 13 others outside a police station in Albu Ubaid west of Ramadi in Anbar province, once an insurgent stronghold but now relatively calm after Sunni Arab tribes there rebelled against al Qaeda.

A Ramadi policeman said the bombers attacked policemen gathered for evening roll-call. The station had been targeted because it contained a number of jailed al Qaeda militants.

The governor of Kerbala province said 2.5 million people had come to the city for Ashura, one of the holiest events in the Shi'ite Muslim religious calendar.

Iraqi security forces had launched major operations across mainly Shi'ite southern Iraq to protect pilgrims, but clashes erupted in Basra and Nassiriya on Friday.

A statement from Maliki's office said a number of "heretics" had been detained after they attacked Ashura processions in Basra and tried to seize a municipal building.

The "Soldiers of Heaven" cult was once led by a man who claimed to be the mahdi, an Islamic messiah-like figure. The " Soldiers of Heaven" cult fought Iraqi and U.S. security forces a year ago near the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf. (Additional reporting by Waleed Ibrahim and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad; Writing by Dean Yates and Paul Tait)

AlertNet news is provided by