MINA, Jan 20: Some 2.5 million Muslims on Thursday took part in the 'stoning of devil' ritual, as a major part of the Muslim world marked Eidul Azha following the Haj pilgrimage.

The pilgrims were stoning one of the 'jamarat', or three pillars symbolizing the devil, in the last and most dangerous ritual of the Haj that last year saw 251 people killed in a stampede.

The faithful approached the pillars to stone the devil. They stood in ditches several metres deep behind a fence or on a bridge built over the site for extra security.

All the three pillars are to be stoned as the ritual resumes on Friday and Saturday. "Thanks God, the stoning of the jamarat is taking place in the best possible manner," Saudi Arabia's Information Minister Fuad al-Farsi told AFP here.

He mentioned the $28million modernization programme carried out since last year's disaster to make it easier for pilgrims to throw their pebbles at the devil and the extra cameras installed to allow the flow of the pilgrims to be monitored. -AFP