Pilgrims move to Mina today

Muslims pray at the Masjid Al Haram Mosque Islam’s holiest site in Makkah a day before the beginning of the Haj. Thousands from around the world will make their way to Mina to start piligrimage today.

Makkah: Saudi Arabia has deployed 100000 security personnel to oversee the annual Haj pilgrimage that begins today the Interior Ministry spokesman said underscoring both the massive arrangements needed to secure one of the largest pilgrimages in the world and the multitude of threats the Haj faces.

“We always concentrate on hajj considering that a threat might exist” Maj Gen Mansour Al Turki said. “We’ve been targeted by terrorism for years now and we know that we are a target for terrorist groups.” Al Turki spoke exclusively to the Associated Press from the Interior Ministry’s security headquarters for the Haj located in the sprawling tent city of Mina just a few miles outside the Grand Mosque in Makkah that houses Islam’s holiest site the Holy Ka’aba.

Roughly 3 million people from around the world are expected to converge at the Ka’aba in Mina and other nearby areas for the Haj which lasts about five days. It is series of rituals meant to cleanse the soul of sins and instill a sense of equality and brotherhood. All able-bodied Muslims are required to perform the Haj once in their lives.

Members of an elite counterterrorism unit traffic police and emergency civil defense personnel are among those deployed to help with crowd control and safety. They are supported by additional troops from the army and national guard Al Turki said.

Inside the Interior Ministry’s nerve centre police monitor dozens of screens with feeds from about 5000 CCTV cameras installed throughout Makkah and Madinah the two cities frequented by pilgrims. AP