Weeks before the attack happened there had been heavy fighting between U.S. forces and fighters loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr around Kufa, and Najaf.
Throughout 2000, he visited Karbala, Shaam, Najaf, Kufa, Bait ul-Muqaddas, Cairo, and Yemen in a comprehensive tour, making him the first Mansoor ul-Yamane and Zaair il-Mashhadain il-'Azeemain to do so.
Husayn in his path toward Kufa encountered the army of Ubaydllah ibn Ziyad, the governor of Kufa, led by Hurr ibn Yazid Riyahi, a top commander in the Umayyad army who later changed sides.
Reinforcement from Kufa joined him under the command of Shahab ibn Makharaq and Abdullah ibn Utban, the commander of campaign in Karman, also joined them, no strong resistance was faced by them in Makran until the Hindu King of Rai Kingdom in Sind, along with his army having contingents from Makran and Sind stopped them near River Indus.
Mukhtar Thaqafi is a Shiite Muslim leader who sets up a rebellion movement in 686 A.D in the town of Kufa to avenge the martyrdom of Hussein (grandson of Islamic Prophet Muhammad).