NPR: Pakistani Troops Storm Red Mosque

Pakistani Troops Storm Red Mosque

Pakistani soldiers stormed the Red Mosque in Islamabad early this morning after last-minute negotiations with militants holed up inside broke down. At least 50 militants and eight soldiers were killed, according to the army.

The Washington Post reports that President Pervez Musharraf gave the go-ahead for the assault, aimed at ending an eight-day siege.

Morning Edition today talked to Aryn Baker of Time magazine, who was a witness to the original confrontation between students in the mosque and soldiers last week. Baker said there were reports that the mosque's leader, radical cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi, has barricaded himself inside a room, along with women and children.

The New York Times reports that Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad, a military spokesman, said the militants inside the mosque were using rocket launchers, grenades and landmines and that much of the area had been booby trapped. "There is a lot of resistance. They are well-armed, well-trained terrorists," he said.

Zahid Hussain, Islamabad correspondent for The Times of London, lives a short distance from the mosque. He writes that this is the first time Islamabad has experienced violence of this kind or even a curfew. He adds that the location of the mosque -- in the center of the city with residences for government officials on several sides -- "is the worst possible place for such a battle to be fought."

Tom's Update: The Associated Press is reporting that radical cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi was killed as troops seized control of the sprawling Red Mosque compound. Ghazi had vowed to die rather than surrender.

9:27 AM ET | 07-10-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

And somewhere in another dimension about 50 former radical Islamic militants are finding out that there are no virgins waiting for them, no paradise of green grass, date palms and running streams. That, in fact, they threw their lives away for a relgious nut, er, I mean "radical cleric" to make a name for himself as a 'martyr.'

Well hopefully none of these morons had a chance to breed. More room for the progeny of the rational and reasonable. Amen.

Sent by John R. Otten | 7:03 PM ET | 07-10-2007

Send a Comment

Comments are reviewed and edited by NPR prior to display. All comments will be read, but not all will be posted.

NPR reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its Web site or in any medium now known or unknown the e-mails and letters that we receive. We may edit them for clarity or brevity and identify authors by name and location. For additional information, please consult our Terms of Use.

E-mail this Page

Recipient's e-mail address:	» Up to twelve addresses, separated by commas.
Your e-mail address:
Your name:
Personal message (optional, 600 characters max):
Your NPR member station:	» List of local stations (PDF)
Are you a member of your local NPR station?	Yes No
Would you like to receive information from your local NPR member station? (see NPR's privacy policy)	Yes No
May we contact you with information about NPR programming and services? (see NPR's privacy policy)	Yes No

(Information collected by NPR will be used solely for internal NPR or NPR member station purposes and only if you selected 'yes' above. See NPR's privacy policy for more information.)

Tom Regan

Blogger

About Us

This year's election cycle has been one of the most exciting in memory. At the NPR News Blog we'll do our best to bring you interesting, informative -- and controversial -- stories from our own reporters and bloggers, as well as the rest of the best of the Internet and blogosphere. And we hope you'll let us know what you think as well.

Want to learn more? Be sure to read our Frequently Asked Questions and our discussion guidelines.