Pakistan Rawalpindi mosque suicide attack kills many

[cali]

by police

Militants are said to have killed at least 35 people, including 17 children, at a mosque near the Pakistani army's headquarters in Rawalpindi.

At least four attackers opened fire on worshippers during Friday prayers attended by many military staff in the garrison city.

Security forces fought back in an hour-long gun battle before three attackers blew themselves up, reports say.

The Pakistan Taliban later said they had carried out the strike.



This attack happened inside a so-called red zone, supposed to be a very secure location. It is close to military facilities and in an area where many senior army officers live. They were known to attend this mosque for prayers.

Once again, the militants are taking this fight to the army and showing they can strike inside a secure protected location.

Certainly, this is part of a pattern of targeting military and security sites. It is something not only restricted to Rawalpindi, but happening in other Pakistani cities as well.

Ten adult civilians were also among the dead, as well as military staff, the army said.

The Pakistani security forces have been attacked recently, and this attack has shown that the militants can still penetrate supposedly secure areas, says the BBC's Orla Guerin in Islamabad.

One witness told Pakistan's Dawn TV: "They attacked the mosque from the side ... the windows. They took the people, got hold of their hair, shot them."

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8394694.stm

[TwilightGardener]

1. My only hope is that this turns ordinary Pakistanis against the Taliban

and any other extremists, the way the Sunnis got pissed off with the AQ element in Iraq.

[SIMPLYB1980]

2. It already has and is continuing to.

That's why Pakistan lets us use Drones within their boarders.