This is looking ominous, as firing is now coming from areas where Jamia Fareedia is, and there appears to be a fresh attack at 2:00 am Pakistan time on the Lal Masjid madrassah.
UPDATE: Clerical Delegation to meet with Abdul Rasheed Ghazi to persuade him to release children. Story here. Musharraf: Surrender or Die.
There are tons of stories about the Lal Masjid standoff, the people of Pakistan are following this the way the US followed the OJ trial. Rumors are rampant, and being propagated by the fact that press is being kept out of the area (the terrorists inside the mosque shot a journalist at the outset of this.) The main thing at the moment is that the government rejected Abdul Rashid’s “surrender terms”. Some foreign language papers might be reporting the surrender terms offered by Ghazi as having been offered by the government.
I found an interesting picture on the web of a group poking fun at the Goracle, and just had to post it. ,,,
….
Don’t these guys know that if the Goracle’s prophecies come true that we will soon be able to grow pretty things like these flowers at both poles? C’mon, what’s not to like about that?
While Abdul Aziz Ghazi was captured, his brother remains inside the mosque with a band of hardliners. Earlier 8 explosions were heard in the area, and then calls to surrender. Now it appears that rockets or artillery are in action against the hold-outs who wouldn’t surrender (1200+ students have left, and most of the young children are now out.) Unconfirmed rumors, and some government reports state that there are Jaimsh-e-Muhammed terrorists inside, and the rumors are that a commander from Mehsud’s Taliban is in the mosque. Neither is confirmed however.
UPDATE: People who surrendered say that Rashid is keeping 25 female students hostage surrounding him in the basement; so both brothers hide behind the burqa. Story here.
Normally I would write an essay on liberty, freedom, capitalism, independence, self-determination (Autarkes in ancient Greek) but.. I’m wiped-out from staying up overnight following events in Pakistan. So, time with family is actually more important than time with you on the holidays, hope you’re not offended.
Instead of an essay, here’s something more stirring, courtesy of Kilgore Trout.
Here’s some video footage of Aunty Aziz demonstrating how to wear a veil
[sorry this video was removed from the service]
Update: Above you can see “Aunty” Aziz modeling his/her burqa. She appears to have lost her veil, how sinful.
A minimum of 100 800 1200 Students have now surrendered.
While Abdul Aziz Ghazi is now captured, his younger brother, Abdul Rashid Ghazi remains inside with the Mehsud fighter and members of Jaimsh-e-Muhammed. Estimates are anywhere between 600 to 1300 students remain inside facing another deadline. They are without power, water, and food.
UPDATE: 8 explosions heard amid gunfire from vicinity of mosque, no fresh news yet. All blogs in Pakistan are heavily condemning this in comments sections, and the ususal small percentage is chalking it up to a government conspiracy.
Many blogs have complained about Google’s lack of commemorating some holidays, but this year for the Fourth they’ve done well and deserve kudos. Great logo, and thanks Google. Notice that the eagle carries a sheaf of grain, and a sheaf of arrows. That’s a strong message, and both items are held in the eagle’s claws for a purpose.
Update to previous post — Michael Yon ponders the media silence in the face of Al Qaida attrocities here.
But for those publications who actually had people embedded in Baqubah when the story first broke and still failed to cover it, their malaise is inexplicable. I do not know why all failed to report the murders and booby-trapped village: apparently no reporters bothered to go out there, even though it’s only about 3.5 miles from this base. Any one of the reporters currently in Baqubah could still go to these coordinates and follow his or her nose and find the gravesites.
Previous article below:
Michael Yon has a report on the evil of Al Qaida in Iraq, and in the past I’ve pointed out their evil elsewhere. Anyone still following this mad dajjal and his demons is truly beyond all hope, and must be killed. From the article:
Soldiers from 5th IA said al Qaeda had cut the heads off the children. Had al Qaeda murdered the children in front of their parents? Maybe it had been the other way around: maybe they had murdered the parents in front of the children. Maybe they had forced the father to dig the graves of his children.
Do not follow this link if you you don’t have the stomach to face true evil, you’ve been warned: Bless the Beasts and the Children.
If you think this might be over the top, or going into high dudgeon over little, I want you to think back to the media hype during the Israeli — Hezb’allah conflict. Remember Qana? Remember Green helmet guy?
Seven Suicide bombers intent on “assassinating important personages” were captured in Gilgit, a rough mountain valley town near the border of Afghanistan. Gilgit was also once rumored to be the hiding place of Osama Bin Laden.
From the Chitral Times:
Security forces claimed to have arrested seven suicide attackers by conducting a successful raid in Northern Areas District Ghazar and foiled their plot regarding targeting important personalities in Shundoor fair.Talking to Geo News, the security sources said that on the tip-off by the intelligence agencies, SSP Gilgit Rana Faisal guided a big operation in Ghazar areas with a large contingent of police, rangers and Elite Force.The police arrested the seven people belonging to Ghazar and recovered suicide-bombing jackets besides a cache of ammunitions and explosives.The security sources said these suicide attackers have been shifted to an unknown location and more arrests and discoveries are likely in the wake of interrogation
This could be Mehsud going after Sherpao again, or these could be from Hekmatyar who has been assassinating former allies and others lately, or it could be any of the various fractures and factions in the Taliban that are evident now.
