Pakistani forces enter mosque compound-military

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Pakistani forces enter mosque compound-military
10 Jul 2007 00:04:21 GMT

ISLAMABAD, July 10 (Reuters) - Pakistani security forces
entered the compound of a mosque in Islamabad on
Tuesday, after launching an operation to clear it of
militants, the military said.

"They have entered the madrasa" said military spokesman
Major-General Waheed Arshad, referring to a religious
school in the mosque compound. "The militants are firing."


Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP270648.htm

---

(original story)

Pakistan launches operation to clear mosque compound
09 Jul 2007 23:45:52 GMT

ISLAMABAD, July 10 (Reuters) - Pakistani forces launched
an operation on Tuesday to clear militants form a mosque
compound after talks to end a week-long standoff broke
down, the military said.

"We launched an operation at 4 a.m. to clear the madrasa
of militants," said military spokesman Major-General
Waheed Arshad, referring to a religious school in the
mosque compound.


Link: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP304415.htm

---

Source: Reuters

Pakistani siege talks break down; clash erupts
09 Jul 2007 23:41:05 GMT

By Karman Haider

ISLAMABAD, July 10 (Reuters) - Negotiations to an end a
bloody standoff at a Pakistani mosque broke down on
Tuesday and sustained gunfire and big explosions erupted
from the vicinity of the mosque soon afterwards.

Earlier on Tuesday, speculation had mounted that a deal
might be struck.

"We tried to make him see sense but it seems he is trying
to buy time," Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim Khan
told reporters.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP303354.htm

[maxsolomon]

1. fascist vs. fanatics

can both sides lose?

[Eugene]

2. Twenty children escape from Pakistan mosque-military

Source: Reuters

Twenty children escape from Pakistan mosque-military
10 Jul 2007 00:28:08 GMT
Source: Reuters

ISLAMABAD, July 10 (Reuters) - Twenty children escaped
from the compound of a radical mosque in the Pakistani
capital, Islamabad, on Tuesday after security forces
launched an operation to clear it of militants, the military
said.

"Twenty children have managed to escape during the fire.
An intense engagement is going on with the militants,"
said military spokesman Major-General Waheed Arshad.


Link: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL288670.htm

[CatholicEdHead]

3. Sounds like a local Pakistan Waco-type event

[ohio2007]

4. send in the black helicopters with strobe lights

and loud music.
let em blast Ozzy tunes

[PassingFair]

5. It's MUCH bigger than that.

This is going on in the middle of their capital city.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/07/06/pakistan_mosque_standoff_enters_fourth_day/7462/\

Here is a more detailed account of today's events,
but I haven't checked the source:

http://billroggio.com/archives/2007/07/a_days_fighting_at_t.php

[Eugene]

6. Pakistani troops storm mosque; up to 50 dead

Source: Reuters

Pakistani troops storm mosque; up to 50 dead
10 Jul 2007 07:59:36 GMT
Source: Reuters

(Recasts lead, adds more explosions, changes byline)

By Faisal Aziz

ISLAMABAD, July 10 (Reuters) - Pakistani forces stormed a
mosque compound on Tuesday, killing up to 50 militants, as they
fought their way through an Islamic school where they believed
a rebel cleric was hiding along with women and children.

Militants mounted a last stand in the basements of the madrasa,
and military spokesman Major-General Waheed Arshad said cleric
Abdul Rashid Ghazi had barricaded himself in them, using women
and children as human shields.

At least four soldiers were killed, according to Interior Minister
Ahmed Aftab Khan Sherpao.

But these were initial casualty reports and the assault to end
a week-long standoff at Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, was still
in progress nearly nine hours after it began.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP303354.htm

[JCMach1]

7. Was watching it live on Al Jazeera... they will start stacking the bodies in a few hours

read massacre...

[Eugene]

8. Pakistani troops seize Red Mosque

Source: Associated Press

Pakistani troops seize Red Mosque

By ZARAR KHAN, Associated Press Writer
11 minutes ago

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani troops raided Islamabad's Red
Mosque on Tuesday and attempted to flush out the remaining
militants entrenched inside a women's religious school in fierce
fighting that left at least 50 militants and eight soldiers dead,
the army said.

The troops stormed the mosque compound before dawn. More
than 10 hours later, they were still trying to root out the
well-armed defenders said to be holding a number of hostages.
Officials said at least 50 women were allowed to go free from
the complex. Some 26 children had earlier escaped.

-snip-

He said the army attack was now focused on the women's
school but that some militants were still firing from the
tops of the mosque's minarets. He said the entire compound
included 75 rooms, large basements and expansive courtyards.

-snip-

The mosque itself has been cleared of the militants — who are
armed with machine guns, rocket launchers and gasoline bombs.
They put up tough resistance from the basement of the mosque,
Arshad said, adding rebels also fired from minarets and booby
trapped some areas. "Those who surrender will be arrested, but
the others will be treated as combatants and killed," he said.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070710/ap_on_re_as/pakistan_radical_mosque

---

Also: Pakistani troops storm mosque; nearly 60 dead - Reuters

[Coventina]

9. While I'm not happy about the loss of life, I am glad the Pakistani

gov't is taking a stand against extremism.

[varun]

10. Pakistan used these extremists against India

for decades. They supported these madrassahs, they armed them.

Now they (extremists) have come back to bite the hand that fed them.

I am afraid its too late. This extremism has spread like a cancer in their society.

[Coventina]

12. Still, it's better to resist than to stand by and let the fundies

take over without a fight.

[varun]

13. Every cleric killed in the mosque will be a martyr

and will inspire hundreds of other "Jihadis" to take up arms against Musharraf.

His days are numbered.

[Coventina]

15. So what's your solution, then?

[closeupready]

14. I agree.

n/t

[Eugene]

11. Rebel cleric killed in assault on Pakistan mosque: official

Source: Reuters

Rebel cleric killed in assault on Pakistan mosque: official
Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:33AM EDT

ISLAMABAD, July 10 (Reuters) - Pakistani security
forces killed on Tuesday rebel cleric Abdul Rashid
Ghazi during an assault on his mosque complex, an
interior ministry official told Reuters.

"I can confirm that Ghazi is dead," said the senior
official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "He
was killed in the last stage of fighting."

Around 50 Islamist fighters had died earlier in the
assault on Islamabad's Lal Masid, Red Mosque.


Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSISL18833720070710

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. Red Mosque 'cleared of militants'

The Pakistani army says it has cleared a mosque compound in Islamabad of militants, a day after troops stormed the complex.

At least 50 people inside the Red Mosque and eight soldiers died during the operation, the military said.

The mosque's militant cleric, Abdul Rashid Ghazi, and some of his supporters were among those who died.
...
Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said no bodies of women or children had been found inside the mosque compound yet, AP reported.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6291984.stm

[Eugene]

17. "We have not found any body of a woman or child yet."

... and if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you.

Source: The Guardian

2.30pm update
Red Mosque siege declared over

Declan Walsh in Islamabad
Wednesday July 11, 2007
Guardian Unlimited

-snip-

But with the security forces restricting access to local hospitals,
the government's refusal to release an updated official death toll
added to fears that the actual number of fatalities could still be
much higher than the 62 officially acknowledged.

-snip-

http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,,2123619,00.html