Man tries to burn himself to death at Mecca Grand Mosque

A man 'poured petrol on himself and tried to set it alight' at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, said a police spokesman.

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MECCA // Saudi police arrested an apparently “mentally disturbed” man who tried to set himself on fire at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, a police spokesman said on Tuesday.

The man, a Saudi citizen in his 40s, “poured petrol on himself and tried to set it alight”, said Major Sameh Al Salami, police spokesman at the Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest site.

“His behaviour gives the impression that he is mentally disturbed.”

The incident happened on Monday night right next to the Kaaba, the cubic stone structure at the heart of the mosque towards which Muslims pray.

Pilgrims and police escorted the man away before he could light the petrol, footage posted on social media showed.

Witnesses said that the man also tried to set fire to the kiswah, the black-and-gold silk curtain that covers the Kaaba.

* Agence France-Presse