Stoning of Satan begins

SOME 2.5 million Muslims took part in the Stoning of Satan ritual, as the Islamic world marked the Eid al-Adha feast of sacrifice following the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

The pilgrims were stoning one of the "jamarat", or three pillars symbolising the devil, in the ultimate but most dangerous ritual of the hajj that last year saw 251 people killed in a stampede as they vied to hurl pebbles at the pillars.

Ahead of Eid al-Adha, the faithful went to Muzdalifa, near Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, to collect the stones used for the ceremony.