IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Saudi Arabia

100,000 troops to secure hajj

Saudi Arabia has deployed 100,000 security personnel to oversee the annual Islamic hajj pilgrimage that begins on Tuesday, 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 hajj faces. "We always concentrate on hajj considering that a threat might exist," Major General Mansour al-Turki said. "We've been targeted by terrorism for years now and we know that we are a target for terrorist groups."