The attackers struck at midday, opening fire on a restaurant before getting into a car and blowing themselves up at a nearby security checkpoint, officials said.

Pilgrims were trekking en masse in a desert valley near the Saudi holy city of Makkah to perform the third and final day of a symbolic devil-stoning ritual as part of the annual Haj that ends on Sunday.

Awqaf Ministry still awaiting response from Saudi Haj ministry to complete procedures

Though Saudi Arabia's latest move allowing Qataris to use the Saudi-Qatar land border for Haj has been considered a positive development by many, a cross-section of Qataris feel there is still more to be done to guarantee the well-being and comfort of the pilgrims.

The ongoing Gulf crisis has made it difficult for thousands of Qatari nationals to perform Haj this year, prominent journalist Ashraf Siddiqui said.

Some 1,800 people, many of them pilgrims, were stranded after a landslide hit a highway near a Hindu temple site in India's northern mountainous state of Uttarakhand, officials said.

Gunmen targeted Shia pilgrims in Kabul late on Tuesday, killing at least 14 people as they gathered to celebrate Ashura, one of the most important festivals on the Shia calendar, officials said.

A car bomb targeting Shia pilgrims killed at least 14 people in southern Baghdad on Monday, security and medical sources said.

A car bomb targeting Shia pilgrims killed at least 23 people near Baghdad on Saturday, as hundreds protested in the capital for reforms and parliament made another attempt to reshuffle the cabinet.