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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Associated Press count shows more than 1,360 pilgrims were killed in a crush and stampede during the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia last month.
The AP count of dead is nearly 600 more than the official death toll. Saudi officials have so far stuck by their total of 769 killed, and 934 injured.
The higher count comes from tolls offered by 17 countries through their officials or state media broadcasts. The tolls are said to only include those killed in the disaster at Mina, near Mecca.
Authorities have said the Mina crush and stampede happened as two waves of pilgrims converged on a narrow road, causing hundreds of people to suffocate or be trampled to death.
Iran has blamed the disaster on the kingdom's "mismanagement" and accused the Saudis of a cover-up.
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