Lal Masjid Military Operation Continues

We're into day two of the military operation to clear the Lal masjid mosque in Islamabad of militants. There has been strong resistance from the militants inside who have barricaded themselves into rooms underneath the mosque. Heavy casualties are expected.

A commando raid that was expected to be a quick operation to subdue Islamic radicals in the Red Mosque turned into a marathon battle Tuesday and Wednesday, with elite Pakistani forces sweeping through underground bunkers in nearly two days of intense combat.

By late Wednesday afternoon local time, Pakistani forces were combatting as many as 30 armed militants still holed up within the mosque compound.

Military officials said the fighting left at least nine commandos and at least 50 radicals dead -- including the firebrand cleric at the center of the standoff. But they also suggested the toll might ultimately prove far higher. Among the hundreds of people estimated to be in the mosque when the raid began, only 86 have made it out alive so far -- most of them women and children, but including some civilians who were rescued and some militants who were wounded or captured.

At least 10 security forces have been killed and 33 injured. There's no clue as to what the final toll will be, but it may be quite significant. For good background on the mosque and the situation in Islamabad that led up to the siege, see Pakistaniat.

The US issued a statement regretting the loss of life, but pinned those deaths on the militants inside the mosque. Predictably, Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood wasn't so supportive:

Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood on Tuesday condemned the Pakistani army's dawn raid on a pro-Taliban mosque in Islamabad, describing the assault in which at least 58 people were killed as dangerous and unprecedented.

“The movement condemns the killings and violation of the mosque's sanctity,” Salem Falahat, leader of the country's largest opposition grouping, told AFP.

“Pakistan undermined the lives of innocent people, which is dangerous and unprecedented. The government should have given more time to the besieged people inside the mosque.” Falahat accused Pakistan of “trying to win the satisfaction of the United States.“Pakistan should reject external meddling in its affairs under the pretext of fighting terrorism,” he said.

As anyone following this page should know, the Muslim Brotherhood is the organization from which grew such terrorist organizations including Hamas and al Qaeda. They are Islamists to the core and are not afraid to use violence when the need arises. They're likely concerned that Musharraf will do unto the thugs in Lal Masjid that Assad did to the Brotherhood in Hama, Syria; crush and eliminate the threat - killing thousands of supporters in the process.

UPDATE:
Reports now indicate the fighting has indeed stopped. However, there is no information about the extent of casualties and what else was found inside the mosque compound.

"The first phase of the operation is over. There are no more militants left inside," Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad said in a telephone interview.

He said that the compound was still being combed for mines, booby traps and other weaponry.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said that no dead women and children had been found inside the sprawling complex and the probability of finding bodies during the clearing operation was low.

For the Prime Minister's sake, I hope that remains the case, because sentiment might change against the Musharraf government if it turns out that women and children were killed in the course of the siege.

UPDATE:
Other reports are more circumspect as to the number of casualties as the numbers wont be known until the entire complex is searched and cleared of traps and explosives.

UPDATE:
Gaius wonders why folks are not calling Ghazi what he was - a coward for hiding behind women and children, and putting hundreds and perhaps thousands at risk of injury or death because he sought to impose Sharia on all.

UPDATE:
Did high value targets manage to escape the compound using tunnels dug under the compound? Did Ghazi die in order to give those individuals a chance to escape? One tunnel was apparently discovered linking the mosque to the madrassa next door, but both are within the same compound so security forces do not believe that those inside could have escaped. Those and other issues will need to be addressed by Musharraf in coming weeks as they have to wrap their hands around the issue.

Watch for the possibility that other Islamist groups take to the streets:

Meanwhile, the six party Islamist Parties Alliance (IPA) staged a demonstration in Peshawar over the Lal Masjid conflagration.

Liaqat Baloch, a parliamentarian of the Jamaat-e-Islami, described "Operation Silence" as a misnomer, adding that it was "basically" a bloody continuation of an attempt to undermine the decisions of the Jirga convened recently by the Federally Administered Tribal Arear (FATA).

Samya Raheel Qazi, another member of the party, was quoted by a foreign news agency as saying that it was a huge tragedy, and queried why none had protested.

Pakistani officials were said to be procuring body bags to remove the dead bodies from the Lal Masjid complex, even as paramilitaries continued patrolling the area.

Medical staffs were moving body bags into ambulances. The final death toll is still unknown as mopping-up operations continue.

The curfew in Islamabad's G-6 area would remain in force till further orders, the capital administration said.

UPDATE:
Zawahiri has been quite busy producing videos of late. He's done three in the past week alone, and today's video calls on Islamists to make jihad against Pakistan and Musharraf for his actions against the Lal Masjid. Laura Mansfield has the text.