Pakistan siege ends as army captures last militant

Islamabad: Commandos freed around 40 hostages held by militants at the Pakistan army headquarters in Rawalpindi on Sunday, ending a 24-hour siege that resulted in the deaths of 19 people.

Three hostages and two commandos were killed in the rescue operation, and five commandos were injured, military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said. Four militants were also killed in the standoff.

Two of the militants, one wearing a suicide vest, held 22 of the hostages in one room and threatened to blow up the building, but the security forces fatally shot both the gunmen before the explosive detonated. Two other militants, who were in another part of the facility, blew themselves up, the spokesman said.

Attack mastermind

A fifth militant, who led the team of nine gunmen, was injured. He was captured and identified as Aqil, also known as Dr Usman, one of the suspected masterminds in the March 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.

According to the police he was involved in the July 2007 attempt to attack the plane of former president Pervez Musharraf. Dr Usman was injured when he blew up explosives in the building he was holed up in, Abbas said, adding security forces communicated with the militants throughout the standoff.

Nine armymen, including a Brigadier and a Lieutenant Colonel, were killed in the attack at the heavily fortified army headquarters in the garrison city.

Six of them died during the fierce battle on Saturday morning at the gate of the General Headquarters when the militants wearing military uniforms drove up in a van and were stopped at a checkpost.

Militants’ demand

Four militants were also killed during Saturday’s gun fight while others slipped away and took hostages in a security building where the rest of the action took place.

Military sources said the gunmen wanted the government to release dozens of militants who are in custody of the security agencies. The banned Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP) based in South Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.

Domestic television channels, quoting security sources, said an accomplice of the attackers had been arrested in a raid on a house in a suburban neighbourhood of the capital and more arrests were expected with the help of information being gleaned from the captured militant.

The reports said the militants belonged to underground extremist groups in the Punjab province.