Saudi Arabia deployed large numbers of special forces Saturday as pilgrims performed the final rituals of a hajj marred by double tragedy, with the toll from a stampede rising to 769. Health Minister Khaled al-Falih announced the new figure, an increase from the previous toll of 717. The number hurt rose to 934 from 863 recorded just after the deadliest incident in a quarter-century to strike the annual Muslim pilgrimage. Dozens of "special emergency force" personnel were seen Saturday on one level of Jamarat Bridge, a five-storey structure in Mina where pilgrims ritually stone the devil, and on which hundreds of thousands were converging when the stampede occurred nearby. Many...
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