The Grand Mosque seizure occurred during November and December 1979 when armed civilians calling for the overthrow of the House of Saud took over Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The insurgents, led by Juhayman al-Otaybi, declared that the Mahdi (the redeemer of Islam) had arrived in the form of one of their leaders, Mohammed Abdullah al-Qahtani, and called on Muslims to obey him. For nearly two weeks, Saudi Special Forces, advised by three GIGN French commandos and other commandos fought battles to reclaim the compound.