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Saudi Arabia's civil defense directorate says at least 150 people dead in hajj stampede

Associated Press
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Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims make their way to cast stones at a pillar symbolizing the stoning of Satan, in a ritual called "Jamarat," the last rite of the annual hajj, on the first day of Eid al-Adha, in Mina near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy) (The Associated Press)

Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims make their way to cast stones at a pillar symbolizing the stoning of Satan, in a ritual called "Jamarat," the last rite of the annual hajj, on the first day of Eid al-Adha, in Mina near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy) (The Associated Press)

Muslim pilgrims cast stones at a pillar symbolizing the stoning of Satan, in a ritual called "Jamarat," the last rite of the annual hajj, on the first day of Eid al-Adha, in Mina near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015. Saudi Arabia's civil defense directorate says at least 150 people have been killed in a stampede at the annual hajj pilgrimage. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy) (The Associated Press)

Saudi Arabia's civil defense directorate says at least 150 people have been killed in a stampede at the annual hajj pilgrimage.

The directorate says at least 400 other pilgrims were injured in Thursday's stampede, which took place in Mina, on the outskirts of the holy city of Mecca.

Some 2 million people are taking part in this year's hajj pilgrimage, which began Tuesday.