UPDATE: 11 Killed In Red Mosque Bombing
A bomb blast has rocked Pakistan’s Red Mosque after violent clashes between police and Islamist students, killing at least 11 people, officials say.
It appeared to be a bomb attack aimed at police, whose ripped uniforms and blood were strewn about the scene in Islamabad, a BBC correspondent said. Earlier police had fired tear gas at stone-throwing students.
The mosque was the scene of a bloody siege that ended earlier in July with the deaths of more than 100 people.
A protest grew on Friday as students demanded the return of the mosque’s surviving pro-Taleban cleric, Abdul Aziz, who is in detention.
Security forces initially stood by as the protest began, but later dozens of police officers in full riot gear were deployed.
Armoured riot vehicles confronted the protesters, some of whom carried wooden staves or hurled rocks at police.
Cleric rejected
The protesters defaced the mosque, which had been repainted in pale colours by the authorities after the end of the siege.
They wrote “Red Mosque” in large Urdu script on the dome of the building. They also raised a black flag with two crossed swords - meant to symbolise jihad, or holy war.
Earlier protesters prevented a government-appointed cleric from leading Friday prayers at what was supposed to be the peaceful re-opening of the mosque.
“I was told everything would be peaceful. I was never interested in taking up this job and after today I will never do it,” Mohammad Ashfaq told AFP news agency as he left the mosque with a police escort.
The explosion took place soon after the protests were subdued by police, said the BBC’s Dan Isaacs, who was only 50-100m (150-300 ft) away.
It appeared to be targeted at the police cordon arranged round the mosque, where dozens of officers were lined up, he said.
Renovated building
Less than three weeks ago, troops stormed the mosque after its clerics and students waged an increasingly aggressive campaign to enforce strict Sharia law in Islamabad.
The mosque had become a centre of radical Islamic learning and housed several thousand male and female students in adjacent seminaries.
Protesters daubed the mosque with graffiti
The chief of Dyala prison in Rawalpindi told Pakistan’s Supreme Court that 567 of the 620 students detained during the siege and 36-hour battle had been freed. Of those still being held, three are women.
A legal aid committee says it has received 58 complaints from relatives about men who are said to be missing following the siege.
The people killed in the siege included 11 soldiers and an as yet unknown number of extremists and their hostages.
The attack on the mosque was the fiercest battle fought by security forces in mainland Pakistan since President Musharraf vowed to dismantle the militant jihadi network in the country in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US.
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The MMA is playing hard to usurp Musharaff’s government. They are parlaying their successes in the Western Provinces in order to exploit what they see are Musharaff’s weaknesses.
Take a lesson from Assad’s father Pervez. When the Shia revolted in his country he suurounded them with tanks and then excercised some carthaginian diplomacy.
Better stop playing around with these people Musharaff.
July 27th, 2007 at 6:11 amdoesnt this tell people that whether you fight these idiots or not they are going to wage war against you? Next time they take to the streets, warn them to desist and when they dont, open fire!continue doing it until they either desist or have no one left to cause trouble.
July 27th, 2007 at 10:58 pmHey Musharraf, you know these greasy shits love death. Accommodate the fuckers! God! Stop being a pussy! You make Harry Reid look like he’s got balls!
July 27th, 2007 at 11:08 pm