Islamic hardliners retake Pak Red Mosque

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ISLAMABAD, July 27 (Agencies): A suicide bomber blew himself up among a group of policemen during clashes at the Red Mosque in Pakistan's capital, killing at least ten people and wounding many more, officials said.
The blast came as hundreds of pro-Taleban extremists reoccupied Red Mosque today after chasing a government-appointed cleric out of the building only weeks after the Army took it over in an operation which killed more than 100.
In a fresh challenge to the pro-Western Pakistani government, radical students stood in the mosque's grounds chanting "Musharraf is a killer" and demanded the return of their former cleric, Maulana Abdul Aziz, who was arrested after he was caught sneaking out of the mosque wearing a burka during last month's bloody siege.
They also raised a black flag with two crossed swords -- meant to symbolise jihad, or holy war -- above the mosque, which is one of Islamabad's best-known Islamic institutions and madrassas.
The extremists launched their coup on the first day that the mosque was reopened after the Army stormed the complex at the start of this month.
Body parts were strewn around the scene of the blast in one of the busiest bazaars in Islamabad, where police were resting after firing tear gas at stone-throwing protesters.
"At least ten people have been killed and many wounded."
"There was a huge blast. I have put the bodies of three civilians and three policemen in ambulances myself," said eyewitness Saifullah, whose hands and clothes were stained with blood.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack but it comes amid a wave of violence following the week-long siege and subsequent storming of the mosque between July 3 and 11.
Unrest erupted at the mosque when radical students chased out a government-picked Islamic elder who was meant to lead the first Friday prayers there since the military operation two weeks ago.
Around a dozen people using rollers daubed red paint over the walls, which had been changed to a peach colour during government renovations.
The unarmed demonstrators flew black jihadi flags with crossed swords from the minarets.
Hardliners at the mosque hurled rocks at armoured police vehicles and officers in riot gear, injuring two policemen, officials said. Police fired tear gas at the demonstrators and arrested six people.
They chanted "Musharraf is a dog, death to the Musharraf government," adding that the blood of the mosque's rebel leader Abdul Rashid Ghazi, who died in the assault, would "bring an Islamic revolution."
Friday's violence comes despite pledges from President Pervez Musharraf to crush extremism in Pakistan.
The government cracked down on the mosque after it led a Taliban-style vigilante campaign, with the goal of imposing Sharia law, which climaxed with the abduction of seven citizens from China, Pakistan's closest ally.
Religious Affairs Minister Ijaz-ul Haq reopened the complex -- renamed the Central Mosque -- on Thursday, with bullet holes from the bitter fighting plastered over by workmen and damaged fans and lighting all repaired.