"Religion of Peace" watch:

Nearly 250 Muslim worshipers died in a hajj stampede Sunday during the annual stoning of Satan ritual in one of the deadliest tragedies at the notoriously perilous ceremony.

The stampede, during a peak event of the annual Muslim pilgrimage, or hajj, lasted about a half-hour, Saudi officials said. There were 244 dead and hundreds of other worshippers injured, some critically, Hajj Minister Iyad Madani said.

"All precautions were taken to prevent such an incident, but this is God's will. Caution isn't stronger than fate," Madani said.

Meanwhile on this Muslim holy day:

Two suicide bombers struck the offices of two U.S.-backed Kurdish parties in near-simultaneous attacks Sunday as hundreds of Iraqis gathered to celebrate a Muslim holiday. At least 56 people were killed and more than 235 were wounded, officials said.

One Kurdish minister said the death toll could exceed 100. The U.S. command in Baghdad put the casualty toll at 56 dead and more than 200 were injured. Kurdish officials said 57 were dead and the count could go higher.

The attack was believed to be the deadliest since an Aug. 29 car bombing in the holy city of Najaf killed Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim and more than 100 others as they emerged from Friday prayers.

It was also believed to have been the first in which the suicide attackers wired bombs to themselves and detonated them while on foot, akin to the suicide attacks by Palestinian militants in Israel.

Remember all that talk of offending Muslims by bombing during Ramadan?