The Hajj massacre....possibly 5000 dead

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Deadly stampede at Hajj pilgrimage suspicious: Leader aide

Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei

Presstv.com
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A senior Iranian official says the recent deadly crush in Mina, near the holy Saudi city of Mecca, during the Hajj pilgrimage rituals is “suspicious.”
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“This incident and its circumstances are suspicious because some of our senior officials have been killed or gone missing in this incident,” Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, said on Tuesday.
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He added that the Saudi government is dodging its responsibility in dealing with the consequences of this incident.
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Asked if the disappearance of some Iranian diplomats in the stampede could be part of a plot, Velayati said, “Cooperation between the Saudi regime and the Zionist regime [Israel] in different arenas is not something that could be covered up.”
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He added that Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Iyad Ameen Madani, should call on Muslim states to investigate the catastrophic Mina incident and work out strategies to guarantee the safety of pilgrims during the Hajj rituals.

“If Saudi Arabia is unable to fulfill its duties with regard to protecting the Hajj pilgrims, Muslim countries should move to carry out their duties in this regard,” Velayati said.

The fatal crush in Mina, near the Saudi city of Mecca, occurred on September 24 after two large crowds of pilgrims, who were on their way to participate in the symbolic stoning of Satan, a Hajj ritual, collided. 

In this picture taken on September 24, 2015, bodies of people, who were crushed in Mina, Saudi Arabia, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage, are seen among belongings and empty water bottles. ©AP

Saudi Arabia has so far confirmed the death of nearly 770 pilgrims in the incident.
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The head of Iran's Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, Saeed Ohadi, said on Tuesday that 239 Iranian pilgrims have so far been confirmed dead in the Mina tragedy.
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He added that 14 Iranian pilgrims have been wounded while 241 others are still missing.
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Ohadi has estimated that the total death toll from the crush could stand at around 4,700 due to the huge scale of the incident.