PAKISTAN: Pakistani authorities prepare body bags for victims of Red Mosque siege in Islamabad

Record ID: 277576

  • Title: PAKISTAN: Pakistani authorities prepare body bags for victims of Red Mosque siege in Islamabad
  • Date: 11th July 2007
  • Summary: PARAMILITARY FORCE VEHICLE PATROLLING STREETS VARIOUS OF PARAMILITARY SOLDIERS ON DUTY
  • Embargoed: 26th July 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Pakistan
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVA2QDEJZQ81RXYIRMRC3DYCLIKN
  • Story Text: Pakistani officials prepare body bags as security forces move to secure the last parts of the Red Mosque in Islamabad a day after an assault that killed a rebel cleric and 58 Islamist fighters and soldiers.

    Pakistani security forces stepped up patrols in the capital Islamabad on Wednesday (July 11) as paramilitary troops made a final push to secure the last parts of a mosque and school complex, a day after an assault that killed a rebel cleric, more than 50 Islamist fighters and eight soldiers.
    But the big question left hanging was whether any women or children said to have been at the mosque had been killed.
    Medical staff and workers of other organizations were seen moving body bags into an ambulance bound for the mosque.
    The final death toll is still unknown as mopping up operations continued.
    A curfew is still in place in the area around the Lal Masjid or Red Mosque. An occasional explosion rang out through the night from the mosque-school complex and several were heard shortly after dawn.
    Hardline cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi died in a hail of bullets in a last stand on Tuesday night. It had yet to be decided where and when he would be buried, officials said.
    Military spokesman Major-General Waheed Arshad said an estimated 50 militants were killed in "Operation Silence", the codename for the final assault that raged from before dawn to after dusk. Eight members of the security forces were killed and 29 wounded. He said he had no report of women or children among the dead.
    High numbers of casualties, especially among women and children religious students based at the compound would be very bad for President Pervez Musharraf, who is going through arguably the worst patch of a roller-coaster eight years in power. Elections are due later this year and the general, who came to power in a 1999 coup, is seeking a second five-year term.
    No one knew how many people were in the complex when the assault began. More than 1,200 people left during a week-long standoff after clashes erupted on July 3. Estimates from officials on the number remaining had ranged from hundreds to 2,000. Arshad said the military, before the assault, had estimated 200 to 300 people there.
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