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| July 10, 2007 | Tuesday | Jamadi-us-Sani 24, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Abdul Rashid Ghazi among 60 dead in Lal Masjid raid ISLAMABAD, July 10 (AFP) Abdul Rashid Ghazi at Islamabad’s Lal Masjid was shot dead Tuesday as Pakistani troops fought day-long gunbattles with militants leaving scores dead. Massive blasts and gunfire rocked Lal Masjid for 16 hours, sending plumes of smoke billowing above Islamabad. The cleric died “in a hail of bullets” after troops spotted him in the basement where he spent most of the day barricaded with some children and women, interior ministry spokesman Brigadier Javed Cheema said. “Ghazi came out with four or five militants who kept on firing at security forces. The troops responded and in the crossfire he was killed,” Cheema told AFP. “It is a big blow to the extremist element in the country and a lesson for others.” Cheema said the other militants were also killed with Ghazi. The cleric's body was lying in the compound while soldiers battled to take control of the sprawling complex's 75 rooms one at a time. As night fell, military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told AFP that troops had secured 80 percent of the complex and were moving slowly as “the resistance is intense in the remaining area.” He said around 50 militants and eight soldiers were confirmed dead and at least 25 soldiers were wounded. Around 60 women and children have so far emerged from the complex since the dawn assault was launched, but many more are still believed to be inside. “The militants are using women and children as human shields,” he added. The militants had booby-trapped much of the compound and “have turned the mosque into a trench for them, they have violated the sanctity of the mosque,” Arshad said. It was not clear how many militants or civilians were still inside. The government has spoken of 100 militants, and 300 to 400 women and children hostages. A man who picked up one of the mobile phones belonging to Ghazi before his death said there were “dead bodies everywhere.” In one of his final calls, made to a private television channel shortly after the raid, Ghazi accused the government of being insincere in its efforts to resolve the crisis. “These people want nothing but genocide,” Ghazi said. (First Posted @ 19:10 PST Updated @ 22:08 PST)
Where talks broke down ISLAMABAD, July 10 : - As Operation Silence entered the decisive phase and troops were engaged in mopping up the militants, private TV channels reported that the talks for a peaceful resolution of the Lal Masjid standoff ended on account of cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi insisting on safe passage for the foreign militants inside the mosque complex. Chaudhry Shujaat Husain, who led the negotiating team, and ministers Ijazul Haq and Tariq Azim said it was the first time that Ghazi made a mention of foreign militants and wanted the deal to include their safety as well. There were also the minor issues of the future status and control of the mosque complex including the children’s library and Jamia Hasfia. They emphatically denied any change in the draft agreement at the presidency and explained that the amendments were aimed at giving legal shape to the draft agreement. (Posted @ 11:26 PST)
Lal Masjid: 27 women, three children rescued: army ISLAMABAD, July 10 (AFP) - Pakistani forces rescued 27 women and three children Tuesday from Lal Masjid where militants are battling troops. They include the wife and daughter of mosque chief Abdul Aziz, chief military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said. “Among the women is Umme Hassan and her daughter,” he said. Hassan is the wife of Aziz -- who himself fled the mosque on Wednesday last wearing a burqa but was caught by security forces. Umme Hassan is the principal of Jamia Hafsa, the girls' madrassa attached to the mosque, whose students waged a Taliban-style anti-vice campaign in the capital.(Posted @ 14:47 PST)
Lal Masjid: 50 militants, eight soldiers killed: army ISLAMABAD, July 10 (AFP) - Around 50 militants and eight soldiers have been killed Tuesday in a Pakistan army assault on Lal Masjid, the military said. The toll increased as militants holed up in the basement and first floor of the mosque, as well as in its minarets, resisted the advance of government forces, military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told reporters. (Posted @ 13:36 PST)
Ghazi’s mother dies of suffocation: witness ISLAMABAD, July 10 (AFP) - Dead bodies are “everywhere” inside Lal Masjid stormed by troops early Tuesday morning, a source inside the mosque complex told AFP by telephone. A man who picked up Abdul Rashid Ghazi's mobile phones said those inside were under “massive bombing and gunfire.””There is no contact with each other because no one can leave the rooms and basements. There are dead bodies everywhere,” the witness added, declining to give his name. One of those killed was Ghazi's mother, who died of suffocation from smoke caused by blasts, while Ghazi was still alive, the source added. The army says around 40 militants and four soldiers have died so far in the raid. Rebels are still holding out in part of the compound and are believed to have many women and children with them, officials said. (Posted @ 01:00 PST)
Lal Masjid: 50 militants surrender ISLAMABAD, July 10 (AFP) - Around 50 suspected militants surrendered to government forces Tuesday during a break in fighting at Lal Masjid, a military official said. “Fifty militants have surrendered to troops after they were given a last chance to give themselves up,” the official said on condition of anonymity. Earlier 20 children also escaped from the mosque when the operation started. (Posted @ 12:06 PST)
Lal Masjid: tough resistance reported ISLAMABAD, July 10 (Reuter) With more than two-thirds of the Lal Masjid complex cleared, commandos had yet to encounter any of the women and children as they fought their way to the basement of the religious school where the militants mounted a last stand, five hours after the operation began. The hundreds of women and children believed to be in the compound were in areas security forces had yet to clear, officials said. “They have yet to be encountered,” he said. “Progress is very slow... The area is heavily mined and we're facing stiff resistance,” a security official told Reuters during the fighting. There are fears the militants may resort to suicide bombs. A military spokesman said he had no information about the fate of Abdul Rashid Ghazi, but according to a senior security official, Ghazi had been captured. The militants put up strong resistance, using rockets and grenades as well as automatic weapons, and soldiers came under fire from the minarets as they overran the mosque at the beginning of the assault, allowing 20 children to escape. After clearing the mosque, commandos, backed by paramilitary troops, swept resistance from the rooftop of the school and worked their way down through the two-storey building. (Posted @ 10:40 PST)
Forty militants, 3 troops dead in Lal Masjid assault ISLAMABAD, July 10 (Reuters) - Forty militants and three Pakistani soldiers have been killed in an assault on Tuesday by security forces on Lal Masjid complex in the capital, the military said. The operation was still on going on, a spokesman said. No civilians, apart from militants, were known to have been killed, a spokesman said. (Posted @ 09:35 PST)
Flash floods kill 20, destroy 15,000 homes in Sudan KHARTOUM, July 10 (Reuters) Flash floods across central and eastern Sudan killed 20 people and destroyed 15,000 houses, the head of the civil defence authority said Tuesday. North Kordofan and White Nile States in central Sudan, Kassala in the east and Sennar in the southeast suffered the most damage. (Posted @ 21:52 PST)
U.S. says Pakistan sovereign country; responsible for law, order Washington, July 10 (PPI) United States acknowledged Pakistan's ''important role in fight against terrorism,'' saying Pakistan is a sovereign country responsible for law and order within its borders. State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack, when asked to comment on a New York Times story regarding an aborted raid on terrorists in 2005 on Pakistani side of border, said the issue is out of his lane. He stressed the point at the briefing that Pakistan is a sovereign country and has a sovereign government. ''I'm not going to get into operational details of our working relationship with the Government of Pakistan in fighting terrorism, but let's also remember Pakistan is a sovereign country. They have a sovereign government that is responsible for law and order within their borders.'' ''We believe Pakistan is a good ally, a good friend in fighting terror,'' McCormack. ''Violent extremism is an issue that affects Pakistani people as well as the U.S. So we have a real interest in working with them in terms of fighting violent extremism. But with respect to any particular military or intelligence operations, that's not something that I would comment on.'' (Posted @ 21:42 PST)
Green Zone mortar barrage killed three BAGHDAD, July 10 (Reuters) A big mortar and rocket attack on Baghdad's Green Zone compound Tuesday killed two Iraqis and a Filipino and wounded 25 other people, Iraqi police said. They said some 30 mortars and rockets were fired at the compound, which houses the Iraqi government and U.S. embassy. (First Posted @ 18:48 PST Updated @ 21:34 PST)
Govt showed utmost restraint in the Lal Masjid issue: PM Aziz ISLAMABAD, July 10 (PPI) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said that the government showed utmost restraint during the last six months and tried its best to resolve the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa issue through dialogue. He was addressing a special meeting of the federal cabinet held here Tuesday night. Aziz said it was the government’s policy that because of the presence of a large number of women and children inside the seminary no step should be taken which could endanger their lives. He said the people of Pakistan are aware that those inside the seminary tried to take over the estate office building and burning the ministry of environment. Shaukat Aziz said that the government, under a strategy, initiated several measures so that children and women come out safely and said because of this policy we were able to secure the lives of 1300 women, children and other persons. Aziz said the team headed by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain held negotiations with the management of Jamia Hafsa till this morning so as to resolve the issue peacefully. The government wanted those inside to come out, those having arms should lay them and surrender them to law enforcing agencies. But talks broke down because of stubborn attitude of the other side. He thanked the people of Pakistan for the understanding of the problem shown by them and for their positive attitude as they want to see their country where there is peace, development and prosperity. (Posted @ 21:14 PST)
Three Philippine marines killed by rebels MANILA, July 10 (Reuters) At least three Philippine marines were killed and 13 others wounded in a clash with Abu Sayyaf rebels on a southern island Tuesday, a spokesman said. Another officer said at least 10 other marines were reported missing. Marine spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Ariel Caculitan told reporters a group of marines patrolling on Basilan island clashed with a large band of rebels in a remote area. According to reports, three soldiers were killed and 13 wounded, he said. An undetermined number of rebels were killed or wounded, he said. (Posted @ 20:22 PST)
Small plane crashes into home in Florida, several injured MIAMI, July 10 (AFP) A small plane crashed into two homes Tuesday, setting the houses on fire and injuring several people in a suburb of Orlando near the Florida city's international airport, officials said. The Cessna 310 twin-engine plane was on a short local flight when the pilot called in an emergency, possibly smoke in the cockpit, officials said. (Posted @ 19:54 PST)
Cricket- Pakistan name initial squad for Twenty20 world championships KARACHI, July 10 (AFP) Pakistan Tuesday announced their 30-man preliminary squad for the inaugural Twenty20 world championships in South Africa in September: Preliminary team: Shoaib Malik (captain), Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Yasir Hameed, Fawad Alam, Salman Butt, Imran Nazir, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar, Imran Farhat, Khurram Manzoor, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq, Naveed Latif, Faisal Iqbal, Shahid Yousuf, Yasir Arafat, Sohail Tanveer, Zulqarnain Haider, Mohammad Irshad, Najaf Shah, Danish Kaneria, Abdur Rehman. (Posted @ 19:04 PST)
All 24 missing Indian policemen found dead RAIPUR, India, July 10 (Reuters) Twenty-four Indian policemen who had gone missing after a fierce gunbattle with Maoist insurgents in the jungles of central India were found dead Tuesday, a top officer said. “Search parties have recovered all the 24 bodies from very close to the encounter site,” Girdhari Nayak, inspector-general of police in the state of Chhattisgarh told Reuters. (First Posted @ 10:45 PST Updated @ 18:52 PST)
Mortars strike Baghdad's Green Zone BAGHDAD, July 10 (Reuters) A number of mortars struck the Green Zone in Baghdad Tuesday and Reuters reporters saw smoke rising in the vicinity of the U.S. embassy. About 10 mortars landed in the heavily fortified compound where the Iraqi government and parliament are based and which is also home to many foreign embassies. (Posted @ 18:48 PST)
Fuel truck crash kills 13 in southeast Iran TEHRAN, July 10 (Reuters) An explosion in southeast Iran killed 13 people when trucks smuggling gasoline crashed Tuesday, a police official was quoted by the IRNA news agency as saying. Police General Salah Asgarpour said the accident occurred when a truck lost control and ploughed into three other trucks, including gasoline and fabrics. “There was a fireball in the place of the accident in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan,” Asgarpour said. Three people were injured, he added. (Posted @ 17:02 PST)
Abbas calls for international force in Gaza RAMALLAH, West Bank, July 10 (AFP) Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas Tuesday called for an international force in the Gaza Strip. “We have insisted on the necessity of deploying an international force in the Gaza Strip to guarantee the delivery of humanitarian aid and to allow citizens to enter and leave freely,” Abbas said in a joint press conference in Ramallah with visiting Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi. (Posted @ 16:44 PST)
Two killed as fresh blasts rock Mogadishu market MOGADISHU, July 10(AFP): Two Somali civilians were killed on Tuesday and five others wounded as a busy Mogadishu market was struck by grenade attacks for the second consecutive day, witnesses and security sources said. The violence that hit Bakara market was a repeat of the previous day, when three people were killed in grenade attacks in the same area. “A shopkeeper was killed when the government forces opened fire after they were attacked by unknown men with hand grenades,” eyewitness Abdullahi Jamaa told AFP. (Posted @ 16:32 PST)
Masked men kill five police near Iraq’s Samarra town BAGHDAD, July 10 (AFP) A group of masked insurgents attacked a police checkpoint near the northern Iraqi town of Samarra and killed five policemen Tuesday, police said. Gunmen in civilian cars opened fire on the checkpoint in the Al-Khala area on the southern outskirts of Samarra, police Captain Riyad Yussef told AFP, adding that three policemen were also wounded. (Posted @ 16:18 PST)
Pakistan storms radical mosque, at least 58 dead ISLAMABAD, July 10(AFP): At least 58 people have died in the fierce gunbattles raging in Lal Masjid and its surroundings. Pakistani troops stormed the mosque in a bid to free hundreds of women and children, sparking fierce opposition from the militants holed up the complex.. After nine hours of heavy fighting, militants armed with rocket launchers and machineguns were firing at troops from the minarets. Around 60 women and children have so far emerged from the complex since the dawn assault. Earlier, 50 militants surrendered after they were given a final chance during a break in fighting. The military said the wife and daughter of Abdul Rashid Ghazi, leading the gunmen, were among a group of civilians freed. (Posted @ 16:08 PST)
17 killed in Afghan suicide blast KANDAHAR, July 10 (AFP) - Seventeen people were killed and about 30 more wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up near a NATO force convoy in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday. The bomber was on foot and blew himself up as a convoy of the NATO-led force passed through the town of Dehrawood in Uruzgan province, provincial police chief General Mohammad Qasem said. (Posted @ 14:40 PST)
Foreign military helicopter crashes in Afghan east KABUL, July 10 (Reuters) - A foreign military helicopter crashed in Afghanistan's eastern province of Laghman on Tuesday, government sources told Reuters, but there was no word on any casualties. (Posted @ 12:08 PST)
Bomb kills 8 Tamil Tigers in N. Sri Lanka-monitors COLOMBO, July 10(Reuters): A roadside bomb killed eight Tamil Tiger rebels in their own territory in the island's far north on Tuesday, in what appeared to be an ambush, Nordic truce monitors said, The attack in Mankulam is the latest in a spree of roadside bombs attacks in recent months. (Posted @ 10:47 PST)
Three Russians die in Chechnya ambush MOSCOW, July 10 (Reuters) - Three Russian interior ministry servicemen died and five were wounded on Tuesday when their armoured vehicle was ambushed in the troubled Chechnya region, Russian news agencies reported. A bomb planted in the road exploded as the vehicle went past and then gunmen opened fire, said the agencies. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
US coalition soldier dies in Afghanistan KABUL, July 10 (AFP) - A soldier with a military coalition led by the United States died after being wounded in Afghanistan's western city of Herat, the force said Tuesday. The coalition did not explain how the soldier, who died late Monday, was wounded nor was the soldier's nationality disclosed. (Posted @ 10:01 PST)
Two dead, five injured in road accident near Umerkot MIRPURKHAS, Pakistan, July10 (APP): Two persons were killed and five others including women were injured late Monday night when a van fell into a deep ditch near Sunni Mori, at Jhuddo- Samaro Road in the limits of Samaro police station, district Umerkot. (Posted @ 09:53 PST)
Five people killed in landslide in south Philippines MANILA, July 10 (Reuters) - Five people were killed, including a pregnant woman, after heavy rains triggered a landslide in a famous goldrush area in the southern Philippines, officials said on Tuesday. (Posted @ 09:36 PST)
62 immigrants die in US jails: rights groups WASHINGTON, July 10(AFP) - Sixty-two immigrants have died in US jails since 2004 for lack of medical care, Tom Jawetz, of the American Civil Liberties Union, the largest US group defending civil rights told members of the US Congress Monday. Former lawmaker Keith Ellison also testified: “Recent news articles unveiled extreme failures in medical treatment that have resulted in at least 62 people dying in ICE custody,” referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of Homeland Security. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Billions spent on US wars WASHINGTON, July 10 (AFP) - The United States has shelled out well over half a trillion dollars on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and running costs have hit 12 billion dollars a month, according to an independent report. Since the strike on Afghanistan launched after the September 11 attacks in 2001, the United States has spent 610 billion dollars on the two wars, and on protecting US bases worldwide, said the report, updated late last month. Iraq has accounted so far for 450 billion dollars, the report said. In fiscal year 2007 alone, the Iraq operation sucked up 165.8 dollars, an increase of 40 percent year-on-year. (Posted @ 09:32 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 101.62 points: KARACHI, July 10: At the close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 13917.43, down 101.62 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:17 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, July 10: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 61.03 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:17 PST)
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