Grand Mosque seizure
The Grand Mosque seizure occurred during November and December 1979 when extremist insurgents calling for the overthrow of the House of Saud took over Masjid al-Haram, the holiest mosque in Islam, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The insurgents declared that the Mahdi (the "redeemer of Islam") had arrived in the form of one of their leadersMohammed Abdullah al-Qahtaniand called on Muslims to obey him. For nearly two weeks Saudi Special Forces, advised by Pakistani commandos, fought pitched battles to reclaim the compound.