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 07 September 2008 01:05 BST

Bloody Red Mosque siege finally over

Wednesday, 11 Jul 2007 17:36
A Pakistani soldier during the siege
Pakistani military forces have succeeded in ending the siege of the Red Mosque in Islamabad, but at least 60 people are feared to have died in the fighting.

Having laid siege to radical militants within the mosque compound since July 3rd the Pakistani army began clearing the mosque of fighters yesterday.

Rebel leader Abdul Rashid Ghazi was killed yesterday evening as he sought "martyrdom" by fighting on to the bitter end. He had sought to impose strict Muslim law over the Pakistani city.

Today fighting continued but finally ended after the last pockets of resistance from loyal militants close to Ghazi were crushed.

Ten soldiers were killed in the fighting while at least 50 militants were killed, but exact numbers of fatalities remain uncertain.

Critics have said that Pakistani presdient Pervez Musharraf's decision to use force to end the confrontation reflects his blunt handling of the situation.

But US president George Bush said Mr Musharraf was a "strong ally in the war against these extremists".

Meanwhile the cleanup stage of operations is underway in the mosque compound itself as the military seeks to deactivate boobytraps and landmines.

"This area needs to be thoroughly cleared and sanitised," an army spokesperson said on local television.End of story


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