BAGHDAD, March 6 (Xinhuanet) -- Great Ayatollah Sayd Ali Al Sistani, the highest religious reference in Najaf, 180 km south of Baghdad, forbid entering Iraq illegally, newspaper Al Sharq Al Awsat said Saturday.

    Smugglers and volunteers, who want to carry out terrorist attacks in this country, usually use illegal entrances, said the local newspaper.

    The newspaper quoted dispensation of the Shiite religious leaderas saying "entering the Iraqi territories from unofficial places isforbidden, and taking money or facilitating smuggling operations isalso forbidden."

    The dispensation was issued in answer to news saying that thousands of Iranians enter Iraq everyday, and that smuggling operations spread in the south, especially in the oil industry.

    Al Sistani criticized the occupation forces and blamed them for the attacks in Karbala and Baghdad last Tuesday, which resulted in killing 271 people and injuring 500 others. Enditem