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Red Mosque cleric dies during military assault

Fighting rages between Pakistani troops and Islamic militants, who have been under siege.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 11, 2007

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani commandos battled Islamic militants holed up in a radical mosque through the night and into the early morning today, killing an extremist cleric and dozens of his followers in an assault that ignited fiery protests.

The army said more than 50 militants and eight soldiers died during fighting that began before dawn Tuesday. Gunfire and explosions still could be heard this morning, a full day after the fighting erupted.

Officials said troops were trying to clear militants from residential quarters next to one of the compound's two schools.

Among the dead was pro-Taliban cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi, who had been the public face of a campaign by the Red Mosque leaders to use their students to impose Islamic rule in the capital.

Elite troops attacked the mosque after a nearly weeklong siege failed to induce militants to surrender. Ghazi's older brother, Abdul Aziz, the mosque leader, was captured last week trying to slip out dressed in a woman's burqa and high heels as hundreds of people left the compound.

Officials declined to estimate how many people were still inside Tuesday night.

The government had sought to avoid a battle, fearing bloodshed would worsen public discontent with President Pervez Musharraf. He is opposed by Islamic hard-liners for allying with the United States. As the fighting raged, 100 armed tribesmen and religious students chanted for his death and blocked a road near the northwestern town of Batagram, police said. About 500 students rallied in the eastern city of Multan.

The United States backed Pakistan's decision to storm the mosque, saying the militants were given many warnings.

[Last modified July 11, 2007, 01:00:35]