Hajj: Major incidents
A timeline of major incidents during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
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| A stampede at Mina in 2006 left 345 pilgrims dead and hundreds more injured [GALLO/GETTY] |
A timeline of major incidents and accidents during the Hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, held in Saudi Arabia every year.
1979 – About 250 armed Saudi Arabian members of a religious sect take over the Grand Mosque in Mecca. More than 100 fighters are killed, along with 127 Saudi troops, during a two-week siege.
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| In 1979, armed men took control of the Grand Mosque in Mecca [File: AFP] |
1987 – Around 400 people, mainly Iranian Shia pilgrims, are killed in clashes with Saudi security forces during anti-Western protests in Mecca.
1989 – One pilgrim is killed and 16 wounded after a bomb explodes near the grand mosque. Saudi Arabia later executes 16 foreigners found guilty of planting the bombs.
1990 – Stampede in a tunnel at Mecca causes the deaths of 1,426 pilgrims, most from Indonesia and Turkey.
1994 – Stampede near Jamarat Bridge in Mina, east of Mecca, kills 270.
1997 – A fire kills 343 pilgrims and injures 1500 at camp in Mina.
1998 – Stampede near Jamarat Bridge kills 119 when people fall off an underpass.
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2001 – Stampede near Jamarat Bridge kills 35.
2003 – Stampede near Jamarat Bridge kills 14 people.
2004 – A 27-minute stampede near Jamarat Bridge kills at least 251 during the ritual knowns as the stoning of the devil.
2006 – Stampede kills 345, the highest number in 16 years, with 600 also injured. At least 76 people are also killed when a hostel collapses.