Data

Name: Grand Mosque seizure

Type: Event

Start: 1979 AD

End: 1979 AD

All Statistics: All Statistics

Icon Grand Mosque seizure

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Extremist militants in Saudi Arabia calling for the overthrow of the House of Saud besieged and took over Masjid al-Haram, the holiest Islamic site, in the city of Mecca. .

Chronology

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  • November 1979: 20 November - 4 December 1979: armed civilians calling for the overthrow of the House of Saud took over Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The insurgents declared that the Mahdi (the "redeemer of Islam") had arrived in the form of one of their leaders, Mohammed Abdullah al-Qahtani, and called on Muslims to obey him. For nearly two weeks Saudi Special Forces, advised by three GIGN French commandos, fought battles to reclaim the compound.

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