KABUL, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The people of the militancy-plagued Afghanistan observed Ashura ritual in a peaceful environment on Thursday amid tight security and cooperation between security forces and people, locals said Friday.

"Thank God that we observed Ashura in a peaceful environment on Thursday and the credit goes to the cooperation between security forces and people," a Kabul resident, Qurban Ali, told Xinhua.

To ensure a peaceful environment for the mourners of Ashura, the government had put all necessary security measures on place ahead of Ashura in big cities including Kabul. Security forces also arrested 16 militants affiliated to the Islamic State (IS) group in Kabul and unearthed their hideouts a couple of days ago.

In efforts to ensure peace during Ashura, the Ministry of Interior deployed police in all sensitive areas including mosques and asked people to work in harmony with police to foil any possible terrorist attacks.

In addition to security forces, Ashura mourners also arranged their own security teams to protect the mourners' processions in the fortified Kabul and other cities.

"No security incident had been reported on Thursday to disrupt the Ashura processions and therefore we are thankful to our police and sister security entities," another Kabul resident, Asghar Ali, told Xinhua.

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani also praised the cooperation between security forces and people on the Ashura day.

"The harmony between people and security forces had thwarted the vicious designs of the enemies during Ashura," Ghani said.