New tally in hajj disaster shows at least 1,399 killed

The crush of stampeding people during the hajj pilgrimage last month outside of Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca killed at least 1,399 people, a new tally released on Thursday showed - 630 more than the kingdom's official toll.

A count of the dead by The Associated Press from the worst tragedy to strike the hajj in a quarter-century comes as Saudi Arabia faces threats ranging from the Islamic State insurgency, a war in Yemen against Shiite rebels and weakening global oil prices gnawing away at its reserves.

Any disaster at the hajj, a pillar of Islamic faith, could be seen as a blow to the kingdom's cherished stewardship of Islam's holiest sites. This season saw two, including the Sept 11 collapse of a crane at Mecca's Grand Mosque that killed 111 people.

Saudi Arabia has been hesitant to release updated casualty figures from the Sept 24 stampede in Mina, even as hundreds remain missing.

"Discrediting the Saudi handling of the hajj undermines the kingdom's prestige and legitimacy across the Islamic world," Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer who now runs the Washington-based Brookings Institution's intelligence project, wrote on one of the think tank's blogs this week.

The AP count of the dead is based on tolls offered by 18 of more than 100 countries that took part in the hajj this year. Iran said it had 465 pilgrims killed, while Egypt lost 148 and Indonesia 120.

Others include Nigeria with 99, Pakistan with 89, India with 81, Mali with 70, Bangladesh with 63, Senegal with 54, Benin with 51, Cameroon with 42, Ethiopia with 31, Morocco with 27, Algeria with 25, Ghana with 12, Chad with 11, Kenya with eight and Turkey with three.

Saudi officials have said their official figure of 769 killed and 934 injured remains accurate. An investigation into the causes of the tragedy is ongoing, and authorities have not updated the casualty toll since Sept 26, two days after the disaster. Authorities have said the deaths occurred when two waves of pilgrims converged on a narrow road, causing hundreds of people to suffocate or be trampled to death.

Iran - Saudi Arabia's Middle East rival - blamed the disaster on the kingdom's "mismanagement" and accused Riyadh of a cover-up, saying the real death toll exceeds 4,700, without providing evidence to support the claim.

Iran has called for an independent body to take over planning and administering the five-day hajj pilgrimage, required of all able Muslims once in their lifetimes. But the ruling Al Saud family likely would never give up its role in administering the holy sites, which along with Saudi Arabia's oil wealth gives it major influence in the Muslim world. King Salman himself is known as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

The dispute comes as Saudi Arabia leads a coalition in Yemen's civil war targeting Shiite rebels known as Houthis, who have the backing of Iran.