Hundreds protest mosque reopening about two weeks after 102 killed
BREAKING NEWS
NBC News and news services
Updated: 9:27 a.m. ET July 27, 2007
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A large explosion went off in a hotel about a quarter-mile from Islamabad's Red Mosque on Friday, killing at least 11 people, police officials said. Authorities said that at least 43 people, including a policeman, were wounded.
The blast came as hundreds of religious students clashed with police and occupied the mosque during its reopening, demanding the return of a pro-Taliban cleric two weeks after an army raid to oust Islamic militants from the complex left more than 100 people dead.
Amir Mehmood, a witness, said the Friday's explosion went off inside the Muzaffar Hotel at a market area near the mosque. He said he saw blood, body parts, and shreds of Punjab police uniform inside the hotel.
On a road outside the mosque, protesters threw stones at an armored personnel carrier and dozens of police in riot gear. After the demonstrators disregarded calls to disperse peacefully, police fired tear gas, scattering the crowd.
Earlier, security forces stood by as protesters clambered onto the roof of the mosque and daubed red paint on the walls after forcing a government-appointed cleric assigned to lead prayers to retreat.
The protesters demanded the return of the mosque's pro-Taliban former chief cleric, Abdul Aziz — who is being detained by the government — and shouted slogans against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Later, a cleric from a seminary associated with the mosque led the prayers.
"Musharraf is a dog! He is worse than a dog! He should resign!" students shouted. Some lingered over the ruins of a neighboring girls' seminary that was demolished by authorities this week. Militants had used the seminary to resist government forces involved in the siege.
Friday's reopening was meant to help cool anger over the siege, which triggered a flare-up in militant attacks on security forces across Pakistan. Public skepticism still runs high over the government's accounting of how many people died in the siege, with many still claiming a large number of children and religious students were among the dead. The government says the overwhelming majority were militants.
BREAKING NEWS
NBC News and news services
Updated: 9:27 a.m. ET July 27, 2007
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A large explosion went off in a hotel about a quarter-mile from Islamabad's Red Mosque on Friday, killing at least 11 people, police officials said. Authorities said that at least 43 people, including a policeman, were wounded.
The blast came as hundreds of religious students clashed with police and occupied the mosque during its reopening, demanding the return of a pro-Taliban cleric two weeks after an army raid to oust Islamic militants from the complex left more than 100 people dead.
Amir Mehmood, a witness, said the Friday's explosion went off inside the Muzaffar Hotel at a market area near the mosque. He said he saw blood, body parts, and shreds of Punjab police uniform inside the hotel.
On a road outside the mosque, protesters threw stones at an armored personnel carrier and dozens of police in riot gear. After the demonstrators disregarded calls to disperse peacefully, police fired tear gas, scattering the crowd.
Earlier, security forces stood by as protesters clambered onto the roof of the mosque and daubed red paint on the walls after forcing a government-appointed cleric assigned to lead prayers to retreat.
The protesters demanded the return of the mosque's pro-Taliban former chief cleric, Abdul Aziz — who is being detained by the government — and shouted slogans against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Later, a cleric from a seminary associated with the mosque led the prayers.
"Musharraf is a dog! He is worse than a dog! He should resign!" students shouted. Some lingered over the ruins of a neighboring girls' seminary that was demolished by authorities this week. Militants had used the seminary to resist government forces involved in the siege.
Friday's reopening was meant to help cool anger over the siege, which triggered a flare-up in militant attacks on security forces across Pakistan. Public skepticism still runs high over the government's accounting of how many people died in the siege, with many still claiming a large number of children and religious students were among the dead. The government says the overwhelming majority were militants.
