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Red Mosque Inspires Clone
Pakistani Militants take over another mosque, name it after scene of bloody siege
By Heather McPherson
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Posted Jul 30, 07 8:46 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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The Red Mosque has become a franchise: pro-Taliban militants have occupied a different shrine in northwestern Pakistan and renamed it after the Islamabad mosque where 102 people died after a protracted siege. The fighters also promise to build a girls' seminary to replace the one that was destroyed by Pakistani authorities near the Red Mosque .
The seminary was the site of a Taliban-style anti-vice campaign launched by the mosque's clerics, which sparked the confrontation with the government. The second shrine—in Lakarai, Pakistan—has been occupied by about 70 fighters. The militants declared their support for the Red Mosque leaders and their goal of an Islamic state.