Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook
Uproar After NC State Agent 'Fixes' Girl's Lunch Preschooler has to eat chicken nuggets instead of mom's meal »

Saudis Foil Hajj Attack

Militants aiming to disrupt Muslim ritual nabbed

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 22, 2007 6:27 AM CST

(Newser) – As millions of Muslims completed the annual Hajj pilgrimage yesterday, Saudi police said they'd arrested a group that had been planning attacks, Al Arabiya reports. An official said the al-Qaeda suspects, detained at cities across the country, had been intent on disrupting the ritual and causing "security confusion." Mecca itself was not believed to have been the terror plot's target.

At the Jamrat, the site where the hajj has been marred in the past by fires and stampedes that killed hundreds, the three stone "pillars" which pilgrims pelt with stones have been converted into long elliptical concrete walls to handle many more pilgrims. Thanks to the $1-billion project, pilgrims can now throw stones on three levels, Al Arabiya reports, and this year's hajj has gone smoothly.

Muslim pilgrims perform the ritual stoning of the devil in Mina, in Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2007. Thousands of Muslim pilgrims throw pebbles at the stone pillars representing the devil as a cleansing ritual on the third day of Hajj at a site just outside the holy city of...
Muslim pilgrims perform the ritual "stoning of the devil" in Mina, in Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2007. Thousands of Muslim pilgrims throw pebbles at the stone pillars representing the devil as a...   (Associated Press)
Muslim pilgrims pray outside of Grand mosque after they finished their Hajj in Mina near Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Friday, Dec. 21, 2007. Despite five days of exhaustion and hardships, Muslim pilgrims were saddened to see the annual hajj wind down to a close Friday, ending what for many is a...
Muslim pilgrims pray outside of Grand mosque after they finished their Hajj in Mina near Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Friday, Dec. 21, 2007. Despite five days of exhaustion and hardships, Muslim pilgrims were...   (Associated Press)
Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba inside the Grand mosque in Mecca, late Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007. Millions of Muslims marked the zenith of the annual hajj, praying for God's forgiveness on a rocky desert hill here where in Muslim tradition Adam and Eve were reunited after leaving Eden. (AP Photo/Hasan...
Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba inside the Grand mosque in Mecca, late Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007. Millions of Muslims marked the zenith of the annual hajj, praying for God's forgiveness on a rocky desert...   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.

More Newser Stories

Bin Laden 'Right-Hand Man' Set for Release in Britain

US: Iran May Be Cozying Up to al-Qaeda

Iran Willing to Attack US: Report

Terror's New Home: Africa

Saudi Arabia: Only Women Can Sell Lingerie


NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne