The New "300": Raid at Pakistan mosque saves students - reveals mass murder

Speaking to the illness that is islam:

All's well that ends well.

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"Most of my friends are supporting Musharraf, because these hard-line people are committing crimes and violence in the name of Islam. Everyone is asking why did he not take action six months ago," said Fakhr Irshad, an engineering student.

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Liberal Pakistani commentators say the military, notably its intelligence services, remain heavily salted with officers ready to assist, rather than confront, Islamic extremists.

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BY JAMES RUPERT

newsday

July 11, 2007
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Army commandos seized control of Islamabad's Red Mosque from Islamic militant guerrillas Tuesday, but it appeared that most of perhaps 300 students trapped in the siege were killed.

Explosions and gunfire jolted central Islamabad in a battle of more than 16 hours. As a pall of stinging smoke hung over the shattered compound last night, government spokesmen skirted questions about casualties among the students, who reportedly included children as young as 7 or 8.
But authorities appeared to be preparing Pakistanis for heavy losses among those whom the raid was meant to rescue. Deputy information minister Tariq Azim somberly told reporters that "all of those who were killed were Muslims," and "most were innocent."

A prominent social welfare activist, Abdul Sattar Edhi, said officials had asked his organization to prepare 300 white burial shrouds.

Many of the students at the mosque's religious schools stayed in the mosque after troops surrounded it last week. The heavily armed guerrillas eventually compelled them to remain as human shields...

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