Posted on 07/08/2007 6:24:30 PM PDT by blam
Commander killed in Pakistan mosque siege
By Isambard Wilkinson
Last Updated: 7:33pm BST 08/07/2007
A Pakistani commander was killed today after troops came under heavy fire from students and suspected militants holed up in a besieged mosque in the capital, Islamabad.
A lieutenant-colonel was killed as his troops attempted to blow holes in the walls of the mosque compound in the hope that hundreds of women and children could escape.
Troops have surrounded the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, in Islamabad since Tuesday when clashes between armed students and security forces began after months of tension.
The known death toll in the standoff was at least 21. Pakistan’s government appeared to move closer to a full-scale assault on the Islamic militants barricaded in the mosque.
"The government may have to rethink its strategy in the light of the sad martyrdom of a senior army official and the resistance that has been shown by what appears to be highly trained militants," said the deputy information minister, Tariq Azeem.
Abdul Rashid Ghazi, the cleric leader of the students, has said that he and his followers are ready to die rather than surrender. A day earlier, President Pervez Musharraf warned the militants they would be killed unless they surrendered.
Security forces have not mounted a full-scale assault on the compound because of fears for the safety of hundreds of women and children the government says are being held as human shields.
Pakistani forces have held back from raiding the now bullet-pocked mosque but moved in closer earlier today, when the giant blasts to knock down the wall echoed around the city.
Officials said they did not know how many people remained inside but there could be up to 2,000. Fifty to 60 hard-core militants were believed to be leading the fighting, officials said.
"We’ve shown great patience because we don’t want people to be killed," said General Musharraf, who is also army chief. Instead, troops have been blasting holes in the wall to provide escape routes for those inside.
About 1,200 students left the mosque after the clashes began but only about 20 have come out since Friday. While some women and children may been coerced into staying, there are women who have been among the most fervent supporters of Ghazi and his elder brother Abdul Aziz, who was caught on Wednesday trying to escape.
The Lal Masjid has been a hotbed of militancy for years, known for its support for the Taliban in Afghanistan and opposition to Musharraf’s backing for the US-led campaign against terrorism.
Many Pakistanis support the action against the hardliners whose behaviour, including a vigilante campaign against perceived vice, raised concern about the spread of militant Islam.
They started using the word “student” since they stopped using the word “Taliban”.
Taliban = student
Gosh, I guess Musharraf really is caving in to the terrorists. He must really be finished now. /sarc
Pakistan troops storm Islamabad mosque: military
afp | 09/07/2007 | afp
Posted on 07/09/2007 8:26:04 PM EDT by mdittmar
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1863304/posts
Militants killed in Pakistan mosque raid
news.com.au | 10 July 2007
Posted on 07/09/2007 10:31:59 PM EDT by Aussie Dasher
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1863371/posts
Troops storm Pakistan mosque compound
Yahoo News/AP
Posted on 07/09/2007 11:31:50 PM EDT by nuconvert
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1863403/posts
Pakistan - Attack in progress at Lal Masjid mosque - “Corpses everywhere”
AFP via translation | July 10, 2007
Posted on 07/10/2007 2:10:33 AM EDT by HAL9000
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1863454/posts
Pakistani troops seize Red Mosque-(more info)
ap | 7/10/07 | By ZARAR KHAN, Associated Press Writer
Posted on 07/10/2007 6:28:25 AM EDT by Flavius
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1863485/posts
More than 50 militants killed in assault on Pakistani mosque
(using women & children as shields)
Kyodo News | 07/10/07
Posted on 07/10/2007 11:20:25 AM EDT by TigerLikesRooster
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1863626/posts
Fresh clashes as Pakistan cleric vows death before surrender (Red Mosque)
AFP on Yahoo | 7/6/07 | Rana Jawad and Masroor Gilani
Posted on 07/07/2007 1:26:24 AM EDT by NormsRevenge
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1862102/posts
Musharraf tells mosque rebels to surrender or die
Brisbane Times | July 8, 2007 | afp
Posted on 07/07/2007 2:38:42 PM EDT by mdittmar
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1862288/posts
Pakistan facing another Lal Masjid
The Hindu | 7/8/07
Posted on 07/08/2007 9:21:02 AM EDT by Valin
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1862533/posts
Pakistan arrests ‘Taleban aides’
BBC News | July 8, 2007 | Charles Haviland
Posted on 07/08/2007 9:35:31 AM EDT by Kaslin
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1862538/posts
Chinese workers shot in [Islamic] Pakistan
BBC | 07, 08, 07
Posted on 07/08/2007 5:47:11 PM EDT by Posting
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1862714/posts
Forget about the collateral damage and bring in the flamethrowers and bulldozers.
Wow. Shilling for Iran on FR. Welcome newbie.
“Shia Iran has had 9 presidential election since 1979 and 7 parliamentary elections.”
Do you know anything about those elections such as the numbers excluded by the Mullahs in the last one? Yasser Arafat was ‘elected’ too, as was Hugo Chavez.
Without the word FREE elections they are worthless. Without a FREE press they are worthless. Within the existing mulluhcracy they are worthless.
http://www.bigpond.com/news/breaking/content/20070711/1975328.asp
Mosque leader dead as troops mop up
July 11, 2007 - 6:02AM
Source: ABC
Fighting all but over: The Red Mosque in Islamabad
Photo: Reuters
Pakistani forces have killed a rebel cleric and more than 50 Islamist militants after 15 hours of fighting in the compound of an Islamabad mosque to end a week-long siege.
Militants mounted a last stand in the basement of a religious school where cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi was killed, the Interior Ministry said.
There was no immediate word on the fate of women and children he was said to have used as human shields.
At least eight soldiers were killed in the operation, bringing the number of dead to about 60 in total.
“Ghazi was surrounded by the militants who did not let him surrender and he was killed in the crossfire,” Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said...
Can't you just see Ghazi saying, "Okay guys, time to surrender, I was just boasting about the dying part." (To late Ghazi)
I can see him saying 'find me a burqa and a pair of high heeled shoes, I'm gettin outa here' ... and the 'militants' surrounding him replying 'NO YOU'RE NOT! Your coming to paradise with the rest of us...'
chuckle...
Now even the radicals have to face up to populism,....
Chuckle..... is right!..
Red Mosque leader Abdul Rasheed Ghazi killed during assault
July 10, 2007 12:39 PM
**************************EXCERPT*********************
Ghazi was shot and killed in the basement of the Jamia Hafsa, a madrassa adjacent to the mosque, along with upwards of 100 "militants."
******************************
He came out with four or five militants who kept on firing at security forces," said Brigadier Javed Cheema, a spokesman for the Inter Services Public Relation branch. "The troops responded and in the crossfire he was killed. ...
Ghazi was shot and killed in the basement of the Jamia Hafsa, a madrassa adjacent to the mosque, along with upwards of 100 "militants."Here's hoping these carcasses are real young 'uns, who haven't yet produced larvae.
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