More than two million Muslims mark Eid al-Adha in Saudi

MINA, Saudi Arabia: More than two million Muslims took part in the symbolic stoning of the devil Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, the last major ritual of the hajj pilgrimage that heralds the start of the Eid al-Adha feast.

Muslims on the annual hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, made their way across the Mina valley of the western Saudi Arabian Mecca province, many carrying pebbles in plastic bottles.

Pilgrims clad in white threw seven stones each at a pillar symbolising satan, shouting "Allahu akbar" ("God is greatest") under the watchful eyes of security forces.

Large fans sprayed water over the crowd as temperatures climbed to 44 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit).

"Thank God it hasn´t been too crowded this year. There hasn´t been a big rush," said Mohammed Osman, 27, who regularly attends hajj.

Mina was the site of a 2015 stampede which saw more than 2,300 pilgrims crushed or suffocated to death. Authorities have since reinforced safety and security measures.

"We are under God´s protection," said May Khalifa, a 37-year-old Egyptian Muslim living in Riyadh.

"Despite the exhaustion, I´m enjoying my first hajj," she said, lifting her small bag of stones.

The hajj is one of the world´s largest Muslim gatherings and drew this year nearly 2.4 million pilgrims to Saudi holy sites.

Roads from Muzdalifah -- another holy site where pilgrims spent Monday night -- to Mina were littered with plastic water bottles as sanitation workers scrambled to remove them.

Tens of thousands of security forces, including police and civil defence, have been deployed for hajj, according to Saudi authorities.

Saudi Arabia´s King Salman made the trip to Mina on Tuesday and was seen on state-run television observing worshippers from the window of a high-rise.

The king, who took to Twitter to say it was a "great honour" to welcome the pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, later paid homage to Saudi soldiers in a televised speech.

"On this day, we must remember our martyrs and heroes, who gave their lives to protect their faith and country," the king said, in an apparent reference to the war in Yemen.