Asif Hassan/AFP-Getty ImagesPakistani soldiers by a barricade near the Red Mosque in Islamabad today.
Mosque Leader Is Killed in Raid in Pakistan
By SALMAN MASOOD and SOMINI SENGUPTAPublished: July 10, 2007ISLAMABAD, July 10
One of the main leaders of the Lal mosque, where security forces have been fighting with militants holed up inside the sprawling compound, has been killed, according to an intelligence official. Explosions and machine-gun fire reverberated in the heart of the capital where the mosque is located, almost 13 hours after fighting began today. The intelligence official, who requested anonymity, said that the leader, Abdur Rashid Ghazi, had been killed. He was one of the two brothers who ran the mosque and religious school. The other brother, Mohammed Abdul Aziz, was arrested last week while trying to flee in a burqa.
Today, a military spokesman said that after 10 hours of fighting, 8 security forces and roughly 50 presumed militants were dead.
Roughly two dozen children, whom the army said were being held hostage, escaped.
Another 29 troops and special forces were injured, the military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad, told reporters at a press briefing near the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque. The spokesman said 50 men and 27 women had been captured, including 13 who were wounded in the battles.
Among them were the wife and daughter of one of the main leaders of the mosque.
The assault on the mosque began before daybreak, around 4:30 am, just hours after talks broke down to end the eight-day siege of the mosque. A series of deafening explosions were followed by a black plume of smoke rising to the sky. Throughout the day, explosions were followed by the rattle of small arms fire and by early afternoon, heavy bursts of machine-gun fire. General Arshad said the militants’ arsenal includes rocket launchers, grenades, landmines, and booby traps to foil troops trying to enter the compound. The militants, whom government officials described as being led by known radical Islamist groups, were using the minarets of the mosque to fire at the security forces.
“There is intense engagement,” the spokesman said at a midday briefing. “There is a lot of resistance. They are well-armed, well-trained terrorists.”
Of those who had been captured or wounded, General Arshad said it was too early to tell how many were part of the armed rebellion and how many had been kept inside against their will. Nor could military officials say how many still remained inside. “It’s too early to say who is who, who is a militant,” he said.
The Lal Masjid, having enjoyed decades of government backing, has in recent months become the epicenter of fierce anti-government religious extremism and an awkward millstone around the neck of the Pakistani President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
Early this morning, speaking to a private television station, Geo, Mr. Ghazi lambasted the military for betraying the cause of the “mujahideen” and pledged to fight to his death.
“Our army is being misused,” Mr. Ghazi said. “It used to be an army of the mujahideen.”
He refused to answer questions about how many civilians, including children, were being held hostage inside. It was unclear by midafternoon whether Mr. Ghazi was dead or alive.
General Arshad said earlier Mr. Ghazi was believed to be hiding in the southern reaches of the compound, possibly in a basement. By early afternoon, before the muezzins across the city called for the midday prayers, troops had reached the women’s madrassa, the Jamia Hafsa, where an unknown number of women and children are believed to be held hostage.
Relatives of those inside sat listlessly at a parking lot that has been dubbed the “surrender point” for those leaving the besieged mosque, waiting for closure. “We just want to find out if he has been martyred and where to collect his body,” said Jamila Bibi, whose son, Qazi Ajmal Mahmood, 18, had gone inside the mosque eight days ago for reasons she could not specify. He called her on someone else’s cell phone four days ago, she said, and told her he was not leaving. “Who knows what happened inside,” the woman said, clutching prayer beads and a cellphone. “Maybe people inside didn’t let him out.”
The morning strike began after a long late-night failed bid for a negotiated settlement, itself a turnaround in government policy after six days of sporadic gun battles and ultimatums demanding unconditional surrender. The delegation was authorized by General Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz as a last-ditch effort to end the siege and release the students and some of their family members who are being held inside as hostages, government officials said. Under discussion was a face-saving option that would allow Mr. Ghazi, the militants’ leader, to surrender himself and all the weapons inside the mosque to senior clerics, two senior officials said.
The negotiating team did not enter the mosque, but talked with the militants by cellphone and loudspeaker as they waited outside.
Until today’s assault, at least 24 people had been reported killed since gunfire broke out July 3, and scores, perhaps hundreds of students, teachers and militants remain inside the mosque grounds. The siege began after mosque leaders used students to press for Islamic law in Pakistan.
The delegation was led by Chaudhry Shujat Hussain, who is the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League, the ruling party. It included 12 clerics led by Mufti Rafi Usmani, the highest-ranking cleric of Pakistan. It also included Abdul Sattar Edhi, Pakistan’s best-known humanitarian figure, and Sumaira Malik, the minister for women’s development.
“The main point is that the people being held inside should be let go,” said Muhammad Ali Durrani, the Pakistani information minister.
Today, a military spokesman said that after 10 hours of fighting, 8 security forces and roughly 50 presumed militants were dead.
Roughly two dozen children, whom the army said were being held hostage, escaped.
Another 29 troops and special forces were injured, the military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad, told reporters at a press briefing near the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque. The spokesman said 50 men and 27 women had been captured, including 13 who were wounded in the battles.
Among them were the wife and daughter of one of the main leaders of the mosque.
The assault on the mosque began before daybreak, around 4:30 am, just hours after talks broke down to end the eight-day siege of the mosque. A series of deafening explosions were followed by a black plume of smoke rising to the sky. Throughout the day, explosions were followed by the rattle of small arms fire and by early afternoon, heavy bursts of machine-gun fire. General Arshad said the militants’ arsenal includes rocket launchers, grenades, landmines, and booby traps to foil troops trying to enter the compound. The militants, whom government officials described as being led by known radical Islamist groups, were using the minarets of the mosque to fire at the security forces.
“There is intense engagement,” the spokesman said at a midday briefing. “There is a lot of resistance. They are well-armed, well-trained terrorists.”
Of those who had been captured or wounded, General Arshad said it was too early to tell how many were part of the armed rebellion and how many had been kept inside against their will. Nor could military officials say how many still remained inside. “It’s too early to say who is who, who is a militant,” he said.
The Lal Masjid, having enjoyed decades of government backing, has in recent months become the epicenter of fierce anti-government religious extremism and an awkward millstone around the neck of the Pakistani President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
Early this morning, speaking to a private television station, Geo, Mr. Ghazi lambasted the military for betraying the cause of the “mujahideen” and pledged to fight to his death.
“Our army is being misused,” Mr. Ghazi said. “It used to be an army of the mujahideen.”
He refused to answer questions about how many civilians, including children, were being held hostage inside. It was unclear by midafternoon whether Mr. Ghazi was dead or alive.
General Arshad said earlier Mr. Ghazi was believed to be hiding in the southern reaches of the compound, possibly in a basement. By early afternoon, before the muezzins across the city called for the midday prayers, troops had reached the women’s madrassa, the Jamia Hafsa, where an unknown number of women and children are believed to be held hostage.
Relatives of those inside sat listlessly at a parking lot that has been dubbed the “surrender point” for those leaving the besieged mosque, waiting for closure. “We just want to find out if he has been martyred and where to collect his body,” said Jamila Bibi, whose son, Qazi Ajmal Mahmood, 18, had gone inside the mosque eight days ago for reasons she could not specify. He called her on someone else’s cell phone four days ago, she said, and told her he was not leaving. “Who knows what happened inside,” the woman said, clutching prayer beads and a cellphone. “Maybe people inside didn’t let him out.”
The morning strike began after a long late-night failed bid for a negotiated settlement, itself a turnaround in government policy after six days of sporadic gun battles and ultimatums demanding unconditional surrender. The delegation was authorized by General Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz as a last-ditch effort to end the siege and release the students and some of their family members who are being held inside as hostages, government officials said. Under discussion was a face-saving option that would allow Mr. Ghazi, the militants’ leader, to surrender himself and all the weapons inside the mosque to senior clerics, two senior officials said.
The negotiating team did not enter the mosque, but talked with the militants by cellphone and loudspeaker as they waited outside.
Until today’s assault, at least 24 people had been reported killed since gunfire broke out July 3, and scores, perhaps hundreds of students, teachers and militants remain inside the mosque grounds. The siege began after mosque leaders used students to press for Islamic law in Pakistan.
The delegation was led by Chaudhry Shujat Hussain, who is the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League, the ruling party. It included 12 clerics led by Mufti Rafi Usmani, the highest-ranking cleric of Pakistan. It also included Abdul Sattar Edhi, Pakistan’s best-known humanitarian figure, and Sumaira Malik, the minister for women’s development.
“The main point is that the people being held inside should be let go,” said Muhammad Ali Durrani, the Pakistani information minister.
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