Shalamcheh is a small town located in the Khuzestan Province. Situated on the border with Iraq, north-west of the city of Abadan, which is only 53 kilometres distant from the Persian Gulf and near the Iraqi-Iran border, Shalamcheh was one of the main Iraqi troop sites at the time of the war against Iran. Approximately 50,000 Iranians died fighting around the town. Today Shalamcheh is a gateway for pilgrims headed to Karbala, a city located in central Iraq, south-west of Baghdad. Considered a holy city by Shia Muslims, home to the Imam Hussain Shrine, tens of millions of pilgrims visit Karbala twice a year.