Al-Qaeda denies plot to target Muslim pilgrims

Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula denied on Sunday it would stage any action to coincide with the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia after a Saudi minister said such an operation could not be ruled out.

"We are against any crimes against pilgrims ... Hajj is a pillar of Islam and we are most eager (not to spill) the blood of Muslims, wherever they may be. Mecca is more sacred than any other place," AQAP said in a statement posted on an Islamist website often used by militants. (Reuters)