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India-Pakistan
Radicals' buildup under agencies' nose a question
2007-07-13
As troops cleared bodies and booby traps from the Lal Masjid, the question arose: how could Islamic radicals build a fortress under the noses of intelligence agencies in the capital?

At least 73 militants and nine soldiers died in two days of fierce room-to-room fighting at the complex in the heart of Islamabad, where insurgents had built bunkers and trenches to hold off the army commandos. The militants used heavy weapons including rocket launchers and machine guns to combat security forces. A decapitated head indicated there had been a suicide attack during the raid and an unexploded suicide belt was also found.

Many residents have asked how the radicals were able to amass this arsenal.

“It looked like a real mosque fortress,” State Minister for Information Tariq Azeem told AFP during a visit to the scene on Thursday, adding that an acrid burning smell permeated the mosque and the adjoining Jamia Hafsa madrassa.
[sniff, sniff] Oh pay that no mind, that's just Ghazi.
Officials have said that militants linked to the Al Qaeda and the Taliban, including some foreign rebels, were among those who had been holed up in the compound. Yet the mosque is only about a kilometre away from foreign embassies and the residence of President Pervez Musharraf.

“It was the biggest intelligence failure,” said SCBA President Munir A Malik. “How come the intelligence agencies were not aware of the happenings in the mosque?”
He can't be that naïve. The ISI was perfectly aware.
Posted by:Fred

#2  For cripes sake, this was the ISI's preferred mosque! What's unclear?
Posted by: Zenster   2007-07-13 15:35  

#1  Not only was ISI aware, they probably provided the weapons.
Posted by: Glenmore   2007-07-13 08:38  

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