Mosque Siege Ends; Cleric Dead

Crossfire takes out militants' leader

By NewsDude , Newser Staff

Posted Jul 10, 2007 9:22 AM CDT

(Newser) – Pakistani army troops stormed Islamabad's Red Mosque early today, ending the siege that had dragged on for over a week and killing at least 50 militants and their leader, the highest-ranking cleric still within the compound. The interior ministry told the Times of London that Abdul Rashid Ghazi was attempting to surrender when he was caught in crossfire.

More than 70 of the hundreds of women and children held hostage by the militants escaped as government commandos swept through the compound, where activists had been agitating for Sharia law for months. Talks between the rebels and the government broke down at about 3:30am local time, and the assault began an hour later.

Pakistan army commandos prepare to storm the Lal Masjid or Red Mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, July 10, 2007. Pakistani commandos cornered the last die-hard militants at Islamabad's mosque and... (Associated Press)

Abdul Rashid Ghazi, a Pakistani Islamic cleric and vice principal of an Islamic school "Jamia Hasfa", speaks on his cellular phone in Islamabad, Pakistan, in this March 29, 2007 file photo. The chief... (Associated Press)

Pakistani Islamic cleric and deputy administrator of the Islamic madrassa school Jamia Hasfa Abdul Rashid Ghazi seen in this file photo taken on Feb. 10, 2007 in Islamabad, Pakistan. The chief cleric... (Associated Press)

Pakistan's radical cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi, center, talks to media with freed police officers Raja Jehangir, bearded on left, and Aurangzeb Awan, right, outside Lal Mosque Thursday, May 24, 2007 in... (Associated Press)

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Mosque Siege Ends; Cleric Dead

Crossfire takes out militants' leader

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Pakistan • Pervez Musharraf • Red Mosque

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Musharraf Faces Bumpy Road to Re-Election

Bhutto mounts challenge to second presidential term

Death Toll in Red Mosque Siege Tops 80

Commandos clear compound after 8-day standoff, 35-hour battle

Radicals Kill Pakistani Colonel

Mosque crisis continues, as Islamic students remain barricaded inside

Red Mosque Holdouts Vow to Die

Pakistani government halts assault to allow women to escape, but rejects anything but unconditional surrender

Hundreds at Pakistani Mosque Surrender

Troops seal off area around radical outpost

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