The Siege OF LAl Masjid

The siege of Lal Masjid (Urdu: لال مسجد محاصرہ, codenamed Operation Sunrise,[10][11]) was a confrontation in July 2007 centered around the Lal Masjid ("Red Mosque") and Jamia Hafsa madrasah complex in Islamabad, Pakistan between Islamic militants and the government of Pakistan.
Since in January 2006, Lal Masjid and adjacent Jamia Hafsa seminary had been run by Islamic militants led by the brothers Maulana Abdul Aziz and Abdul Rashid Ghazi. This group supported the imposition of Sharia (Islamic religious law) in Pakistan, and openly called for the overthrow of the Pakistani government under President Pervez Musharraf. Lal Masjid came into constant conflict with authorities in Islamabad over a period of 18 months, engaging in violent demonstrations, hate speech, destruction of property, kidnapping, arson, and armed clashes with authorities. After Lal Masjid militants set fire to the Ministry of Environment building and engaged in an armed clash with Army Rangers who were guarding it, a siege of the Lal Masjid complex began.
The complex was besieged from July 3 to July 11, 2007. After negotiations failed, it was stormed by the Pakistan Army and members of the Special Service Group and re-taken. The conflict resulted in 154 deaths, and 50 militants were captured. The assault prompted pro-Taliban rebels along the border with Afghanistan to scrap a 10-month-old peace agreement with the Pakistani government.[12] This event triggered the Third Waziristan War which has killed over 3,000 people and marked another surge in militancy and violence in Pakistan.[13]
Contents
[hide]
1 Background
1.1 Prior to 2006
1.2 After 2006
2 Timeline
2.1 Siege
2.2 Attack on Musharraf's plane
2.3 Preparation for the Assault
2.4 The Assault
2.4.1 Battle for the Mosque
2.4.2 Battle for the Jamia Hafsa Complex
2.4.3 Final Stand
2.5 Mosque secured
2.6 Casualties
2.7 Damage to mosque
3 Al-Qaeda and foreign fighters
4 Reactions
4.1 Pakistani Public
4.2 Pakistani media
4.3 International reactions
5 Aftermath
5.1 2008
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
//
[edit] Background
[edit] Prior to 2006
The Lal Masjid was founded by Maulana Qari Abdullah in 1965. In Urdu, Lal Masjid means "Red
[edit] After 2006
[edit] Timeline
[edit] Siege


Location of the Lal Masjid
On July 3, 2007, a gun battle erupted between the students of Lal Masjid and Pakistani security
[edit] Attack on Musharraf's plane

Wikinews has related news: Gunmen shoot at Pakistani President Musharraf's plane
[edit] Preparation for the Assault
Predator unmanned aerial vehicles flew over Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa on July 8 and July 9 capturing images of the movements of people inside.[14] The security forces had the images taken to study the claims of Ghazi Abdul Rashid regarding casualties and damage caused to Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa.[14] The UAVs flew over the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa for more than an hour from 2:40 to 4:00 a.m.[14] High Officials and the Security Forces examined the pictures directly and relayed the information directly to the command post on the ground.[14] The UAV was given to Pakistan by the United States for the War on Terror to combat terrorists.[14] The strategic planning for the assault on the mosque was formulated from information gathered by the drone.[14] Pakistan deployed some of its best security units to attack the militants from the mosque. These include the Army's 111th Brigade, its elite strike force, the Special Service Group (SSG), the 9th wing of the Pakistan Rangers paramilitary force and the anti-terrorism squad of the Punjab police.[15]
[edit] The Assault
[edit] Battle for the Mosque
On the morning of July 10, minutes after former Prime Minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Federal Religious Affairs Minister Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq and their delegation left the area, declaring that negotiations via loudspeaker and mobile phone intended to end the siege peacefully had failed, Pakistani special forces commandos, the Special Service Group, were issued orders to storm the mosque.[16] Pakistan Army spokesman Waheed Arshad said that the troops began by attacking and breaching the mosque from the south[17] and assaulted it in three directions at 4:00 a.m. (23:00 GMT).[18] The forces immediately came under a hail of gunfire from heavily armed militants hunkered down behind sandbagged positions on the roof and from holes in the walls of the mosque.[19] The SSG were quickly able to clear the mosque's ground floor, amid explosions coming from the mosque. About 30 women and children ran towards the advancing troops and managed to escape unharmed.[19]
While the SSG were securing the ground floor of the mosque, they were continuously fired on from the mosque's minarets which slowed down the operation.[17] Atop the mosque roof, the militants had piled sandbags at the foot of the minarets which they used to climb up in order to shoot at troops below.[17] After the minarets were taken, the SSG progressed deeper into the complex, and the militants threw petrol bombs in an attempt to set fire to the mosque to stop the assault but were unsuccessful.[17] Once the ground floor was secured, the SSG attempted to enter the Jamia Hafsa madrassa adjoining the mosque. The militants had laid a large number of booby traps that again held up the SSG as they had to be disabled before they could storm into Jamia Hafsa complex.[17]
[edit] Battle for the Jamia Hafsa Complex
The SSG entered the Jamia Hafsa complex, which also served as the living quarters of Abdur Rashid Ghazi, and were engaged in an intense firefight in the main courtyard.[17] Militants fired on them from makeshift bunkers beneath the stairwell.[17] Army spokesman Arshad later claimed that the militants must have been fortifying the bunkers for several months.[17] Once the courtyard had been cleared, the SSG proceeded inside the Jamia Hafsa building, which is a sprawling labyrinthine religious school for females. Militants inside the building were armed with guns and rockets. Some areas inside were also booby-trapped.[19] Some militants had bullet- and explosion-proof vests, and other highly sophisticated and modern weapons.[20] The SSG suffered most of their casualties during the battle to take over the complex.[20] During close quarter combat, the SSG were attacked with smoke grenades, incendiary grenades, and fragmentation grenades.[20] Twenty-nine of the thirty-three SSG commandos that were injured in the operation got their injuries from fragmentation grenades.[20] As the fighting continued, the SSG came upon a room where half a dozen militants were present, one of the militants then detonated his suicide jacket killing everyone in the room.[20] It took several hours of intense fighting before the SSG took control of the Jamia Hafsa, with only the basement left to be pacified.
[edit] Final Stand
Arshad said troops had secured 80 percent of the complex and were moving slowly as the resistance was intense in the remaining areas.[16] Heavily armed militants had retreated into the basement using women and children as human shields, and the standoff continued.[21] The militants in the basement resisted with machine guns, rocket launchers, and Molotov cocktails. In a last interview with Geo TV during the operation, Abdul Rashid Ghazi, who was hunkered down in the basement claimed that his mother had been wounded by gunfire and was quoted as saying "The government is using full force. This is naked aggression... my martyrdom is certain now". Ghazi also claimed that 30 rebels were still battling Pakistani troops but they only had 14 AK-47s.[22]
From the basement, the militants continued to fire at the SSG commandos from ventilation grilles.[17] During the firefight, Abdul Rashid Ghazi was shot in the leg and was asked to surrender.[23] However, other militants in the room fired back at the SSG, and Ghazi was killed in the cross fire.[23] Further reports say that Ghazi came out of a bunker to surrender but was shot by his militants.[23] The fighting continued until the last of the militants trapped in the basement were either killed or had surrendered.
Behind an Army cordon, emergency workers waited for clearance to enter Lal Masjid and female police officers were present to handle female survivors or casualties. Other relatives of the militants inside the Lal Masjid were also behind the cordon. The Associated Press reported, "The siege has given the neighborhood the look of a war zone, with troops manning machine guns behind sandbagged posts and from the top of armored vehicles.[24]
[edit] Mosque secured
On July 11, officials reported that the Lal Masjid complex had been cleared of militants and troops were combing the area for booby traps and explosives. The eight-day Lal Masjid operation was the longest ever conducted by the Special Services Group (SSG), the elite strike force of the Pakistan Army.[25]
According to Inter-Services Public Relations, a bevy of weapons were recovered from bullet-riddled Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa complex, which included Russian made RPG and Chinese variant RPG-7 rockets,[25] Anti-tank and anti-personnel landmines, suicide bombing belts, three to five .22 caliber rifles, RPD, RPK and RPK-74 light machine guns, Dragunov sniper rifles, SKS rifles, AK-47s, pistols, night vision equipment, and over 50,000 rounds of various caliber ammunition.[25] Lesser sophisticated items and weaponry to be recovered from the complex included three crates of petrol bombs prepared from green soft drink bottles, gas masks, recoilless rifles, two-way radios, large plastic buckets containing homemade bombs the size of tennis balls, as well as bladed weapons such as knives.[25]
Intelligence agencies expressed shock at the highly sophisticated modern weapons that the militants in the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa compound had access to,[20] and began an investigation as to where these militants had obtained such sophisticated equipment.[20]
Pakistan Army spokesman Waheed Arshad said that a suicide bomber had detonated himself in the mosque located at the opposite side of the complex to the seminary.[25] Arshad also said a second suicide bomber had detonated himself in the white-domed mosque.[25] It took 36 hours to fully secure the complex from militants and remove booby traps.[4]
[edit] Casualties
[[Image:Pic17.jpg280pxthumbEight of the 10 soldiers of Pakistan Army’s [[Special Services better armed"/>
[edit] Damage to mosque
The damage to the mosque was extensive. The entrance hall of the mosque was totally burned out, the ceiling was scorched and red walls above the oval doorway were blackened. However, the mosque itself sustained less damage than the Jamia Hafsa seminary. Bullet casings were found all over the mosque roof, and the inside of Lal Masjid had turned coal black, when the militants had tried to set the mosque on fire using petrol bombs. Militants had used the mosque’s two white minarets as a vantage point which resulted in the damage of the minarets. One of the minarets was completely damaged and the speakers for the call to prayer were hanging off their wires.[26] The dome, however was not damaged during the 36 hour battle. The Director General of the Inter Services Public Relations said the investigations were being carried out while some of the photographs of the bodies seem to be of foreigners.[17]
In the Jamia Hafsa complex, the damage was intense, and thousands of bullet-holes marked the courtyard. The basement was blackened from rockets that were fired.[17] The main buildings of the complex were intact, whilst the boundary walls had been breached in several places. The building had bullet marks on its cement structure.[17] The concrete and white plaster walls of the complex were riddled by gunfire from commandos, who breached the southern walls of the four-story building and traded fire with the militants, who had fortified their positions. Around two courtyards inside the school, plain concrete rooms were filled with shattered glass and spent rounds of ammunition. Piles of the girls’ bed rolls and stacks of their books were shunted against walls.[17]
On July 15, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) was asked by the government to complete the repair and rehabilitation of Lal Masjid within 15 days,[27] and on July 27, the mosque was re-opened to the public. However, the Jamia Hafsa complex was demolished because it was illegally constructed and was in danger of collapsing.[28]
[edit] Al-Qaeda and foreign fighters
Pakistani intelligence officials said they found letters from Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri after taking control of Lal Masjid.[29] They were written to Abdul Rashid Ghazi and Abdul Aziz Ghazi and secretly directed the brothers and the militants into an armed revolt. Government sources said up to 18 foreign fighters including Uzbeks, Egyptians, and several Afghans had arrived weeks before the final shootout and set up firing ranges to teach students, including children, how to handle weapons.[29] Diplomats were surprised by the speed with which the Zawahiri condemned the attack on the mosque and called on Pakistanis to rise up against Musharraf's government. Officials blamed the presence of foreign fighters for the breakdown of negotiations at the Lal Mosque just as they seemed about to reach a deal to end the standoff peacefully.[29] According to government sources and western diplomats, Al-Qaeda fighters in the mosque sought martyrdom instead.[29]
[edit] Reactions
[edit] Pakistani Public
Although many Pakistanis were silent about the operation against Lal Masjid, most of them agreed that the government was right to take action, even though it raised fears of an extremist backlash.[30] While hardliners have been able to stir up anger each time President Pervez Musharraf moves against them, most people have traditionally been tolerant Muslims and opposed the militant drive to impose Islamic law.[30] Most residents of Islamabad agreed that the deadly climax of the three-month standoff has restored calm despite the fear of retaliation.[30]
[edit] Pakistani media
In a televised address to the nation of Pakistan, President Pervez Musharraf said that he was determined to eradicate extremism and terrorism in Pakistan.[31]
Dawn supported the government's actions against Lal Masjid but also asked, "...how the intelligence agencies failed to get wind of the goings-on in the Lal Masjid and the stockpiling of arms and ammunition in such large quantities".[32]
The Daily Times also supported the government's position and said, "Let us be clear. No government can violate the universal principle of 'no negotiation with terrorists' and live to be praised."[32]
The News was more critical and said, "Once 'Operation Silence' is over, the firing stops, the dust settles down and the bodies are counted, there are bound to be many questions raised. Why didn't the government take action earlier against the clerics because had that been the case so many lives would not have been lost? Why were the Lal Masjid elements allowed so much leeway that the complex became almost like a state within a state, complete with a moral policing force which acted with impunity enforcing a rigid interpretation of Islam on the city's residents? How did so many hardened militants, reportedly some foreigners among them, make their way inside the compound situated in the heart of Islamabad?".[32]
The Post was worried as to how the episode would affect Pakistan and said, "This is going to ratchet up religious sentiments, and could lead to increased polarization between the moderates and extremists in the country, the former including General Musharraf under the banner of 'enlightened moderation'."[32]
The Islam criticized the government and said, "The government cannot absolve itself of the tragedy. If it wanted, the matter could have been resolved at the start. But this was not done and, for the first time in the history of Pakistan, our own security forces not only bombarded a mosque and religious seminary, but also brought in armored personnel carriers, tanks and helicopter gunships in numbers that made you wonder. This shows that all this activity was masterminded by some satanic minds. This incident is tragic, shameful and dangerous. How much it has harmed the country and the nation, and how worse an impact it will leave on the country on the future, can at this point only be imagined."[32]
Nawa-i-Waqt wrote in its editorial that, "The entire nation is drowned in shock and grief today. They are mourning the brute use of force. Now we need a comprehensive inquiry over the operation against the Red Mosque. The report should be made public so that the people can know the actual facts."[32]
The Ausaf daily stated that "The entire nation is grieving... only the USA wanted what happened and proof of that is that the storming operation was celebrated at the White House and Pentagon rather than at General Musharraf's HQ.".[33]
The Pakistan Observer praised the government and said, "The Government deserves credit for showing remarkable tolerance and patience and exhausted all possible avenues for peaceful settlement of the nerve-shattering crisis".[32]
[edit] International reactions
China backed Pakistani President Musharraf in his stance against Lal Masjid.[34] The Chinese Minister of Public Security, Zhou Yongkang Zhou, referred explicitly to the Lal Masjid militants as terrorists and demanded that Pakistan act more forcefully to protect Chinese nationals working in the country.[34]
The European Union President, José Manuel Barroso, issued a statement that it "supports the Government of Pakistan in the defense of the rule of law and the wrist of the State against the threat posed by such armed radical groups in the context of fight against extremism".[35] While it also praised the "restraint and moderation showed by the Pakistani authorities."[35]
Bryan D. Hunt, the United States' Consulate in Lahore, was quoted as saying that the U.S. government supported the Pakistani government and that "the militants were given many warnings but instead of surrendering they decided to fight and challenge the writ of government".[36] Hunt also said that the U.S. fully supports Pakistan in the War on Terror and considers Pakistan "their closest ally in South Asia".[36] Religious parties and figures criticized the support extended by a US consulate official to the operation against Lal Masjid and demanded that the government expel him for interfering in Pakistan’s internal affairs. Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam has characterized the US consulate official’s statement against diplomatic norms and open interference in the country’s internal affairs. She said a protest would be lodged.[37]
President George W. Bush gave his support to Musharraf as "a strong ally in the war against these extremists".[38]
State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey noted that the militants had been given many warnings before the commandos moved on the sprawling Red Mosque compound before dawn. He said, "the government of Pakistan has proceeded in a responsible way. All governments have a responsibility to preserve order."[39]
India, which has fought three wars with Pakistan, did not officially give any reaction or comments on the Lal Masjid issue. However, it gave indirect support to Pakistan and viewed it has Pakistan's willingness to fight terrorism.[40]
[edit] Aftermath
On August 16, 2007, acting on a suo motu notice, the Supreme Court of Pakistan took up the extrajudicial killings of the people at the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa complex. Performance of the Islamabad administration attracted the reprimand of the court for slow pace. The court was informed, 61 students were in custody, of them 39 on bailable offenses. The Chief Justice of Pakistan directed immediate release of 22 innocent people as recommended by a joint investigation team. National Crisis Management Cell Director, Javed Iqbal Cheema, told the court that 28 DNA tests had not been confirmed. The Chief Justice also pointed out that Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Ali had said in a statement that 30 bodies remained unidentified.[41]
Mohammed Ahsan Bhoon, President of the Lahore High Court Bar Association said, "this issue could have been resolved through negotiations but General Musharraf intentionally spilled the blood of innocent people to please his foreign masters".[42] Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim said that the Lal Masjid assault had sent a strong message that the government "meant business".[42]
President Pervez Musharraf vowed in a nationally televised address that he would "crush extremists throughout Pakistan and move against religious schools like those at the Lal Masjid and those that breed them".[42] The Lal Masjid siege gave hardliners in Pakistan another rallying point, as well as new martyrs, and prompted al-Qaida and the Taliban into launching retaliation attacks in Pakistan.
The first attack came after the operation against the mosque on July 12, 2007, when two suicide attacks that killed six people in the northwest Pakistan.[42] Another twenty-eight soldiers were killed when a suicide attacker struck a military convoy in northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border on July 14.[29]
The bodies of about 70 of the militants found after the Lal Masjid operation, were buried in a graveyard near Islamabad.[42] Officials took photographs, fingerprints and DNA samples from the bodies before buried in temporary graves to help relatives identify and claim the bodies later.
Since the end of the siege there has been renewed attacks in Pakistan, what is now being called the Third Waziristan War, claiming the lives of over 1,000 Pakistani soldiers, hundreds of civilians, 1,500 militants and politician Benazir Bhutto, who was killed in a suicide attack on December 27, 2007.
[edit] 2008
Main article: Lal Masjid suicide bombing
On July 6, 2008 at 7:50 PM local time, a bomb exploded near Lal Masjid killing 18 policemen and 1 civilian. Pakistani officials claim that the bombing, occurring on the 1st anniversary of the siege, was a revenge attack and was the work of a suicide bomber around 30 years of age.[43]
[edit] See also
Lal Masjid
War in North-West Pakistan
Grand Mosque Seizure, similar event in Saudi Arabia regarding the siege of Masjid al-Haram
Operation Bluestar, similar event in India regarding the siege of Amritsar
Waco Siege, similar event in the U.S.
[edit] References
^ "‘Assault neither victory nor defeat’". The News. 2007-07-15. http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=9019. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
^ "‘ Lal Masjid operation not a matter of victory or defeat: Musharraf’". AAJ news. 2007-07-14. http://news.aaj.tv/news.php?pg=3&show=detail&nid=72655. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
^ Declan Walsh (2007-07-11). "Red Mosque siege declared over". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,,2123619,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
^ a b Griff Witte (2007-07-12). "Mosque siege ends, and grim cleanup begins". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/07/12/MNGOTQUTPG1.DTL. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
^ Syed Mohsin Naqvi (2007-07-04). "Red Mosque students surrender slowly". CNN. http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/07/04/pakistan.mosque/index.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
^ a b c d Griff Witte (2007-07-12). "Pakistani Forces Kill Last Holdouts in Red Mosque". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/11/AR2007071100367.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
^ "Bodies not kept in I-9 storage, SC told". Dawn. 2007-07-14. http://www.dawn.com/2007/07/14/top2.htm. Retrieved on 2007-07-14.
^ "Court demands Red Mosque answers". BBC. 2007-08-28. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6967537.stm. Retrieved on 2007-08-29.
^ "Lal Masjid women, children also killed: G-6 curfew to be lifted today". Dawn. 2007-07-14. http://www.dawn.com/2007/07/14/top1.htm. Retrieved on 2007-07-14.
^ Qudssia Akhlaque (2007-07-12). "It's 'Operation Sunrise' not 'Silence'". Dawn. http://www.dawn.com/2007/07/12/top7.htm. Retrieved on 2008-05-14.
^ "Silence of the Dead in Islamabad". The Statesman. 2007-07-11. http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=1&theme=&usrsess=1&id=162286. Retrieved on 2007-07-11.
^ "Scores killed in Pakistan attacks". BBC News. 2007-07-19. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6905808.stm. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
^ "Militants burn down girls' school in north-west Pakistan". M&C News. 2008-05-04. http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/news/article_1403354.php/Militants_burn_down_girls_school_in_north-west_Pakistan. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
^ a b c d e f "Drones fly over Lal Masjid". Online News Pakistan. http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php?id=114788. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
^ Raza, Syed; Munawar Azeem (2007-07-04). "Fierce gunbattles rock capital". Dawn. http://www.dawn.com/2007/07/04/top1.htm. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
^ a b Aziz Malik. "Cleric Ghazi, Scores Killed: Islamabad Red Mosque Operation in Decisive Phase". Pakistan Times. http://pakistantimes.net/2007/07/11/top.htm. Retrieved on 2008-05-12.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Shakeel Anjum (2007-07-13). "Mosque siege ends, and grim cleanup begins". The Jang. http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=8988. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
^ "'Dozens dead' in Red Mosque assault". MWC. 2007-07-10. http://mwcnews.net/content/view/15336/0/. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
^ a b c Declan Walsh (2007-07-11). "Red Mosque siege declared over". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,,2123619,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
^ a b c d e f g "Madrassa registers to clear ambiguity". Gulf Times. 2007-07-18. http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=161602&version=1&template_id=41&parent_id=23. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
^ "Pakistani soldiers storm mosque". BBC News. 2007-07-10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6286500.stm. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
^ "TV: 70 militants dead in operation against Lal Masjid in Pakistani capital". China View. 2007-07-10. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-07/10/content_6353511.htm. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
^ a b c "Islamabad Red Mosque Cleric Ghazi Killed". Pakistan Times. 11-07-2007. http://www.pakistantimes.net/2007/07/11/top1.htm.
^ "Troops storm Pakistan Red Mosque". China Daily. 2007-07-10. http://chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-07/10/content_5424458.htm. Retrieved on 2008-05-24.
^ a b c d e f "Mosque siege ends, and grim cleanup begins". The Jang. http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=8988.
^ "Mosque siege ends, and grim cleanup begins". The Jang. http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=8988.
^ "Lal Masjid repair work to complete in 15 days". Daily Times (Pakistan). 2007-07-17. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C07%5C15%5Cstory_15-7-2007_pg11_4. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
^ "Lal Masjid to reopen in time for Friday prayers". Daily Times (Pakistan). 2007-07-24. http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=9194. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
^ a b c d e Dean Nelson (2007-07-15). "Bin Laden’s deputy behind the Red Mosque bloodbath". The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2076013.ece. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
^ a b c "‘Silent majority’ welcomes mosque raid". Daily Times. 2007-07-13. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C07%5C13%5Cstory_13-7-2007_pg11_11. Retrieved on 2008-05-12.
^ "Musharraf vows war on militants". BBC news. 2007-07-12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6896179.stm. Retrieved on 2008-05-12.
^ a b c d e f g "Pakistan press on mosque assault". BBC news. 2007-07-12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6290594.stm. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
^ "Press urges Red Mosque inquiry". BBC News. 2007-07-12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6294794.stm. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
^ a b "China calls on Pakistan to better protect Chinese". Shanghai Daily. 2007-06-27. http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2007/200706/20070627/article_321184.htm. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
^ a b "EU Presidency Statement on the Lal Masjid Crisis". French Embassy in Pakistan. 2007-07-06. http://www.ambafra-pk.org/article.php3?id_article=1190. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
^ a b "Lal Masjid operation will help Pak-US alliance: Hunt". Pakistan Link. 2007-07-12. http://www.pakistanlink.com/Headlines/July07/12/10.htm. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
^ "US envoy’s remarks criticized". The Dawn. http://www.dawn.com/2007/07/12/top11.htm.
^ Bill Van Auken (2007-07-11). "Mosque massacre: Washington’s “war on terror” shakes Pakistan". WSWS. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/jul2007/paki-j11.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-05-14.
^ "US backs Pakistan's storming of radical mosque". The Raw Story. 2007-07-10. http://rawstory.com/news/afp/US_backs_Pakistan_s_storming_of_rad_07102007.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-14.
^ "India keeps a close watch". Tribune News. 2007-07-10. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070711/main1.htm. Retrieved on 2008-05-28.
^ "Destruction of evidence annoys apex court: Lal Masjid-Jamia Hafsa case". The Dawn. http://www.dawn.com/2007/08/18/top3.htm. Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
^ a b c d e "Red Mosque cleric predicts 'Islamic revolution'". MSNBC. 2007-07-11. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19722713/. Retrieved on 2007-07-11.
^ "Pak terror reminder: 18 dead in Lal Masjid blast". Press Trust Of India (www.ibnlive.com). July 7, 2008. http://www.ibnlive.com/news/pak-terror-reminder-18-dead-in-lal-masjid-blast/68417-2.html. Retrieved on 2008-07-06.
The siege of Lal Masjid (Urdu: لال مسجد محاصرہ, codenamed Operation Sunrise,[10][11]) was a confrontation in July 2007 centered around the Lal Masjid ("Red Mosque") and Jamia Hafsa madrasah complex in Islamabad, Pakistan between Islamic militants and the government of Pakistan.
Since in January 2006, Lal Masjid and adjacent Jamia Hafsa seminary had been run by Islamic militants led by the brothers Maulana Abdul Aziz and Abdul Rashid Ghazi. This group supported the imposition of Sharia (Islamic religious law) in Pakistan, and openly called for the overthrow of the Pakistani government under President Pervez Musharraf. Lal Masjid came into constant conflict with authorities in Islamabad over a period of 18 months, engaging in violent demonstrations, hate speech, destruction of property, kidnapping, arson, and armed clashes with authorities. After Lal Masjid militants set fire to the Ministry of Environment building and engaged in an armed clash with Army Rangers who were guarding it, a siege of the Lal Masjid complex began.
The complex was besieged from July 3 to July 11, 2007. After negotiations failed, it was stormed by the Pakistan Army and members of the Special Service Group and re-taken. The conflict resulted in 154 deaths, and 50 militants were captured. The assault prompted pro-Taliban rebels along the border with Afghanistan to scrap a 10-month-old peace agreement with the Pakistani government.[12] This event triggered the Third Waziristan War which has killed over 3,000 people and marked another surge in militancy and violence in Pakistan.[13]
Contents
[hide]
1 Background
1.1 Prior to 2006
1.2 After 2006
2 Timeline
2.1 Siege
2.2 Attack on Musharraf's plane
2.3 Preparation for the Assault
2.4 The Assault
2.4.1 Battle for the Mosque
2.4.2 Battle for the Jamia Hafsa Complex
2.4.3 Final Stand
2.5 Mosque secured
2.6 Casualties
2.7 Damage to mosque
3 Al-Qaeda and foreign fighters
4 Reactions
4.1 Pakistani Public
4.2 Pakistani media
4.3 International reactions
5 Aftermath
5.1 2008
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
//
[edit] Background
[edit] Prior to 2006
The Lal Masjid was founded by Maulana Qari Abdullah in 1965. In Urdu, Lal Masjid means "Red
[edit] After 2006
[edit] Timeline
[edit] Siege


Location of the Lal Masjid
On July 3, 2007, a gun battle erupted between the students of Lal Masjid and Pakistani security
[edit] Attack on Musharraf's plane

Wikinews has related news: Gunmen shoot at Pakistani President Musharraf's plane
[edit] Preparation for the Assault
Predator unmanned aerial vehicles flew over Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa on July 8 and July 9 capturing images of the movements of people inside.[14] The security forces had the images taken to study the claims of Ghazi Abdul Rashid regarding casualties and damage caused to Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa.[14] The UAVs flew over the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa for more than an hour from 2:40 to 4:00 a.m.[14] High Officials and the Security Forces examined the pictures directly and relayed the information directly to the command post on the ground.[14] The UAV was given to Pakistan by the United States for the War on Terror to combat terrorists.[14] The strategic planning for the assault on the mosque was formulated from information gathered by the drone.[14] Pakistan deployed some of its best security units to attack the militants from the mosque. These include the Army's 111th Brigade, its elite strike force, the Special Service Group (SSG), the 9th wing of the Pakistan Rangers paramilitary force and the anti-terrorism squad of the Punjab police.[15]
[edit] The Assault
[edit] Battle for the Mosque
On the morning of July 10, minutes after former Prime Minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Federal Religious Affairs Minister Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq and their delegation left the area, declaring that negotiations via loudspeaker and mobile phone intended to end the siege peacefully had failed, Pakistani special forces commandos, the Special Service Group, were issued orders to storm the mosque.[16] Pakistan Army spokesman Waheed Arshad said that the troops began by attacking and breaching the mosque from the south[17] and assaulted it in three directions at 4:00 a.m. (23:00 GMT).[18] The forces immediately came under a hail of gunfire from heavily armed militants hunkered down behind sandbagged positions on the roof and from holes in the walls of the mosque.[19] The SSG were quickly able to clear the mosque's ground floor, amid explosions coming from the mosque. About 30 women and children ran towards the advancing troops and managed to escape unharmed.[19]
While the SSG were securing the ground floor of the mosque, they were continuously fired on from the mosque's minarets which slowed down the operation.[17] Atop the mosque roof, the militants had piled sandbags at the foot of the minarets which they used to climb up in order to shoot at troops below.[17] After the minarets were taken, the SSG progressed deeper into the complex, and the militants threw petrol bombs in an attempt to set fire to the mosque to stop the assault but were unsuccessful.[17] Once the ground floor was secured, the SSG attempted to enter the Jamia Hafsa madrassa adjoining the mosque. The militants had laid a large number of booby traps that again held up the SSG as they had to be disabled before they could storm into Jamia Hafsa complex.[17]
[edit] Battle for the Jamia Hafsa Complex
The SSG entered the Jamia Hafsa complex, which also served as the living quarters of Abdur Rashid Ghazi, and were engaged in an intense firefight in the main courtyard.[17] Militants fired on them from makeshift bunkers beneath the stairwell.[17] Army spokesman Arshad later claimed that the militants must have been fortifying the bunkers for several months.[17] Once the courtyard had been cleared, the SSG proceeded inside the Jamia Hafsa building, which is a sprawling labyrinthine religious school for females. Militants inside the building were armed with guns and rockets. Some areas inside were also booby-trapped.[19] Some militants had bullet- and explosion-proof vests, and other highly sophisticated and modern weapons.[20] The SSG suffered most of their casualties during the battle to take over the complex.[20] During close quarter combat, the SSG were attacked with smoke grenades, incendiary grenades, and fragmentation grenades.[20] Twenty-nine of the thirty-three SSG commandos that were injured in the operation got their injuries from fragmentation grenades.[20] As the fighting continued, the SSG came upon a room where half a dozen militants were present, one of the militants then detonated his suicide jacket killing everyone in the room.[20] It took several hours of intense fighting before the SSG took control of the Jamia Hafsa, with only the basement left to be pacified.
[edit] Final Stand
Arshad said troops had secured 80 percent of the complex and were moving slowly as the resistance was intense in the remaining areas.[16] Heavily armed militants had retreated into the basement using women and children as human shields, and the standoff continued.[21] The militants in the basement resisted with machine guns, rocket launchers, and Molotov cocktails. In a last interview with Geo TV during the operation, Abdul Rashid Ghazi, who was hunkered down in the basement claimed that his mother had been wounded by gunfire and was quoted as saying "The government is using full force. This is naked aggression... my martyrdom is certain now". Ghazi also claimed that 30 rebels were still battling Pakistani troops but they only had 14 AK-47s.[22]
From the basement, the militants continued to fire at the SSG commandos from ventilation grilles.[17] During the firefight, Abdul Rashid Ghazi was shot in the leg and was asked to surrender.[23] However, other militants in the room fired back at the SSG, and Ghazi was killed in the cross fire.[23] Further reports say that Ghazi came out of a bunker to surrender but was shot by his militants.[23] The fighting continued until the last of the militants trapped in the basement were either killed or had surrendered.
Behind an Army cordon, emergency workers waited for clearance to enter Lal Masjid and female police officers were present to handle female survivors or casualties. Other relatives of the militants inside the Lal Masjid were also behind the cordon. The Associated Press reported, "The siege has given the neighborhood the look of a war zone, with troops manning machine guns behind sandbagged posts and from the top of armored vehicles.[24]
[edit] Mosque secured
On July 11, officials reported that the Lal Masjid complex had been cleared of militants and troops were combing the area for booby traps and explosives. The eight-day Lal Masjid operation was the longest ever conducted by the Special Services Group (SSG), the elite strike force of the Pakistan Army.[25]
According to Inter-Services Public Relations, a bevy of weapons were recovered from bullet-riddled Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa complex, which included Russian made RPG and Chinese variant RPG-7 rockets,[25] Anti-tank and anti-personnel landmines, suicide bombing belts, three to five .22 caliber rifles, RPD, RPK and RPK-74 light machine guns, Dragunov sniper rifles, SKS rifles, AK-47s, pistols, night vision equipment, and over 50,000 rounds of various caliber ammunition.[25] Lesser sophisticated items and weaponry to be recovered from the complex included three crates of petrol bombs prepared from green soft drink bottles, gas masks, recoilless rifles, two-way radios, large plastic buckets containing homemade bombs the size of tennis balls, as well as bladed weapons such as knives.[25]
Intelligence agencies expressed shock at the highly sophisticated modern weapons that the militants in the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa compound had access to,[20] and began an investigation as to where these militants had obtained such sophisticated equipment.[20]
Pakistan Army spokesman Waheed Arshad said that a suicide bomber had detonated himself in the mosque located at the opposite side of the complex to the seminary.[25] Arshad also said a second suicide bomber had detonated himself in the white-domed mosque.[25] It took 36 hours to fully secure the complex from militants and remove booby traps.[4]
[edit] Casualties
[[Image:Pic17.jpg280pxthumbEight of the 10 soldiers of Pakistan Army’s [[Special Services better armed"/>
[edit] Damage to mosque
The damage to the mosque was extensive. The entrance hall of the mosque was totally burned out, the ceiling was scorched and red walls above the oval doorway were blackened. However, the mosque itself sustained less damage than the Jamia Hafsa seminary. Bullet casings were found all over the mosque roof, and the inside of Lal Masjid had turned coal black, when the militants had tried to set the mosque on fire using petrol bombs. Militants had used the mosque’s two white minarets as a vantage point which resulted in the damage of the minarets. One of the minarets was completely damaged and the speakers for the call to prayer were hanging off their wires.[26] The dome, however was not damaged during the 36 hour battle. The Director General of the Inter Services Public Relations said the investigations were being carried out while some of the photographs of the bodies seem to be of foreigners.[17]
In the Jamia Hafsa complex, the damage was intense, and thousands of bullet-holes marked the courtyard. The basement was blackened from rockets that were fired.[17] The main buildings of the complex were intact, whilst the boundary walls had been breached in several places. The building had bullet marks on its cement structure.[17] The concrete and white plaster walls of the complex were riddled by gunfire from commandos, who breached the southern walls of the four-story building and traded fire with the militants, who had fortified their positions. Around two courtyards inside the school, plain concrete rooms were filled with shattered glass and spent rounds of ammunition. Piles of the girls’ bed rolls and stacks of their books were shunted against walls.[17]
On July 15, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) was asked by the government to complete the repair and rehabilitation of Lal Masjid within 15 days,[27] and on July 27, the mosque was re-opened to the public. However, the Jamia Hafsa complex was demolished because it was illegally constructed and was in danger of collapsing.[28]
[edit] Al-Qaeda and foreign fighters
Pakistani intelligence officials said they found letters from Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri after taking control of Lal Masjid.[29] They were written to Abdul Rashid Ghazi and Abdul Aziz Ghazi and secretly directed the brothers and the militants into an armed revolt. Government sources said up to 18 foreign fighters including Uzbeks, Egyptians, and several Afghans had arrived weeks before the final shootout and set up firing ranges to teach students, including children, how to handle weapons.[29] Diplomats were surprised by the speed with which the Zawahiri condemned the attack on the mosque and called on Pakistanis to rise up against Musharraf's government. Officials blamed the presence of foreign fighters for the breakdown of negotiations at the Lal Mosque just as they seemed about to reach a deal to end the standoff peacefully.[29] According to government sources and western diplomats, Al-Qaeda fighters in the mosque sought martyrdom instead.[29]
[edit] Reactions
[edit] Pakistani Public
Although many Pakistanis were silent about the operation against Lal Masjid, most of them agreed that the government was right to take action, even though it raised fears of an extremist backlash.[30] While hardliners have been able to stir up anger each time President Pervez Musharraf moves against them, most people have traditionally been tolerant Muslims and opposed the militant drive to impose Islamic law.[30] Most residents of Islamabad agreed that the deadly climax of the three-month standoff has restored calm despite the fear of retaliation.[30]
[edit] Pakistani media
In a televised address to the nation of Pakistan, President Pervez Musharraf said that he was determined to eradicate extremism and terrorism in Pakistan.[31]
Dawn supported the government's actions against Lal Masjid but also asked, "...how the intelligence agencies failed to get wind of the goings-on in the Lal Masjid and the stockpiling of arms and ammunition in such large quantities".[32]
The Daily Times also supported the government's position and said, "Let us be clear. No government can violate the universal principle of 'no negotiation with terrorists' and live to be praised."[32]
The News was more critical and said, "Once 'Operation Silence' is over, the firing stops, the dust settles down and the bodies are counted, there are bound to be many questions raised. Why didn't the government take action earlier against the clerics because had that been the case so many lives would not have been lost? Why were the Lal Masjid elements allowed so much leeway that the complex became almost like a state within a state, complete with a moral policing force which acted with impunity enforcing a rigid interpretation of Islam on the city's residents? How did so many hardened militants, reportedly some foreigners among them, make their way inside the compound situated in the heart of Islamabad?".[32]
The Post was worried as to how the episode would affect Pakistan and said, "This is going to ratchet up religious sentiments, and could lead to increased polarization between the moderates and extremists in the country, the former including General Musharraf under the banner of 'enlightened moderation'."[32]
The Islam criticized the government and said, "The government cannot absolve itself of the tragedy. If it wanted, the matter could have been resolved at the start. But this was not done and, for the first time in the history of Pakistan, our own security forces not only bombarded a mosque and religious seminary, but also brought in armored personnel carriers, tanks and helicopter gunships in numbers that made you wonder. This shows that all this activity was masterminded by some satanic minds. This incident is tragic, shameful and dangerous. How much it has harmed the country and the nation, and how worse an impact it will leave on the country on the future, can at this point only be imagined."[32]
Nawa-i-Waqt wrote in its editorial that, "The entire nation is drowned in shock and grief today. They are mourning the brute use of force. Now we need a comprehensive inquiry over the operation against the Red Mosque. The report should be made public so that the people can know the actual facts."[32]
The Ausaf daily stated that "The entire nation is grieving... only the USA wanted what happened and proof of that is that the storming operation was celebrated at the White House and Pentagon rather than at General Musharraf's HQ.".[33]
The Pakistan Observer praised the government and said, "The Government deserves credit for showing remarkable tolerance and patience and exhausted all possible avenues for peaceful settlement of the nerve-shattering crisis".[32]
[edit] International reactions
China backed Pakistani President Musharraf in his stance against Lal Masjid.[34] The Chinese Minister of Public Security, Zhou Yongkang Zhou, referred explicitly to the Lal Masjid militants as terrorists and demanded that Pakistan act more forcefully to protect Chinese nationals working in the country.[34]
The European Union President, José Manuel Barroso, issued a statement that it "supports the Government of Pakistan in the defense of the rule of law and the wrist of the State against the threat posed by such armed radical groups in the context of fight against extremism".[35] While it also praised the "restraint and moderation showed by the Pakistani authorities."[35]
Bryan D. Hunt, the United States' Consulate in Lahore, was quoted as saying that the U.S. government supported the Pakistani government and that "the militants were given many warnings but instead of surrendering they decided to fight and challenge the writ of government".[36] Hunt also said that the U.S. fully supports Pakistan in the War on Terror and considers Pakistan "their closest ally in South Asia".[36] Religious parties and figures criticized the support extended by a US consulate official to the operation against Lal Masjid and demanded that the government expel him for interfering in Pakistan’s internal affairs. Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam has characterized the US consulate official’s statement against diplomatic norms and open interference in the country’s internal affairs. She said a protest would be lodged.[37]
President George W. Bush gave his support to Musharraf as "a strong ally in the war against these extremists".[38]
State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey noted that the militants had been given many warnings before the commandos moved on the sprawling Red Mosque compound before dawn. He said, "the government of Pakistan has proceeded in a responsible way. All governments have a responsibility to preserve order."[39]
India, which has fought three wars with Pakistan, did not officially give any reaction or comments on the Lal Masjid issue. However, it gave indirect support to Pakistan and viewed it has Pakistan's willingness to fight terrorism.[40]
[edit] Aftermath
On August 16, 2007, acting on a suo motu notice, the Supreme Court of Pakistan took up the extrajudicial killings of the people at the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa complex. Performance of the Islamabad administration attracted the reprimand of the court for slow pace. The court was informed, 61 students were in custody, of them 39 on bailable offenses. The Chief Justice of Pakistan directed immediate release of 22 innocent people as recommended by a joint investigation team. National Crisis Management Cell Director, Javed Iqbal Cheema, told the court that 28 DNA tests had not been confirmed. The Chief Justice also pointed out that Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Ali had said in a statement that 30 bodies remained unidentified.[41]
Mohammed Ahsan Bhoon, President of the Lahore High Court Bar Association said, "this issue could have been resolved through negotiations but General Musharraf intentionally spilled the blood of innocent people to please his foreign masters".[42] Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim said that the Lal Masjid assault had sent a strong message that the government "meant business".[42]
President Pervez Musharraf vowed in a nationally televised address that he would "crush extremists throughout Pakistan and move against religious schools like those at the Lal Masjid and those that breed them".[42] The Lal Masjid siege gave hardliners in Pakistan another rallying point, as well as new martyrs, and prompted al-Qaida and the Taliban into launching retaliation attacks in Pakistan.
The first attack came after the operation against the mosque on July 12, 2007, when two suicide attacks that killed six people in the northwest Pakistan.[42] Another twenty-eight soldiers were killed when a suicide attacker struck a military convoy in northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border on July 14.[29]
The bodies of about 70 of the militants found after the Lal Masjid operation, were buried in a graveyard near Islamabad.[42] Officials took photographs, fingerprints and DNA samples from the bodies before buried in temporary graves to help relatives identify and claim the bodies later.
Since the end of the siege there has been renewed attacks in Pakistan, what is now being called the Third Waziristan War, claiming the lives of over 1,000 Pakistani soldiers, hundreds of civilians, 1,500 militants and politician Benazir Bhutto, who was killed in a suicide attack on December 27, 2007.
[edit] 2008
Main article: Lal Masjid suicide bombing
On July 6, 2008 at 7:50 PM local time, a bomb exploded near Lal Masjid killing 18 policemen and 1 civilian. Pakistani officials claim that the bombing, occurring on the 1st anniversary of the siege, was a revenge attack and was the work of a suicide bomber around 30 years of age.[43]
[edit] See also
Lal Masjid
War in North-West Pakistan
Grand Mosque Seizure, similar event in Saudi Arabia regarding the siege of Masjid al-Haram
Operation Bluestar, similar event in India regarding the siege of Amritsar
Waco Siege, similar event in the U.S.
[edit] References
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^ "‘ Lal Masjid operation not a matter of victory or defeat: Musharraf’". AAJ news. 2007-07-14. http://news.aaj.tv/news.php?pg=3&show=detail&nid=72655. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
^ Declan Walsh (2007-07-11). "Red Mosque siege declared over". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,,2123619,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
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^ Syed Mohsin Naqvi (2007-07-04). "Red Mosque students surrender slowly". CNN. http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/07/04/pakistan.mosque/index.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
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^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Shakeel Anjum (2007-07-13). "Mosque siege ends, and grim cleanup begins". The Jang. http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=8988. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
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^ a b "EU Presidency Statement on the Lal Masjid Crisis". French Embassy in Pakistan. 2007-07-06. http://www.ambafra-pk.org/article.php3?id_article=1190. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
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^ "Pak terror reminder: 18 dead in Lal Masjid blast". Press Trust Of India (www.ibnlive.com). July 7, 2008. http://www.ibnlive.com/news/pak-terror-reminder-18-dead-in-lal-masjid-blast/68417-2.html. Retrieved on 2008-07-06.