Amid tight security, Muslim pilgrims stone 'devil'

Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims stoned walls symbolizing the devil in a narrow valley outside Mecca yesterday at the most dangerous stage of the haj pilgrimage.

Pilgrims began three days of stoning and celebrated the first day of Eid al-Adha, commemorating the willingness of biblical patriarch Abraham to sacrifice his son for God.

"It took a long time since they made us go in one line, but it was easy to do," said Osama Khashaba, an Egyptian accountant, after throwing stones at the Jamarat Bridge in a ritual representing rejection of temptation.