Hyderabad, Sept. 13 -- Retired Saudi Major General Faleh bin Mohammed bin Manawir Al-Dhahiri, who commanded the operation to retake the Grand Mosque in Makkah during the 1979 siege, has died at the age of 86.

Al-Dhahiri died at a military hospital in Jeddah on Wednesday, September 9.

1979 Makkah Grand Mosque siege

On November 20, 1979, as worshippers completed Fajr prayers, Saudi preacher Juhayman al-Otaybi and hundreds of armed followers seized the Grand Mosque in Makkah and challenged the Saudi monarchy.

The group, which was reported to number up to 600 militants, included people from outside Saudi Arabia and identified itself as al-Ikhwan. Tens of thousands of worshippers were caught inside the sprawling mosque complex during the c...