Protests turn deadly as Pakistan mosque reopens*

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bombing killed at least 13 people
and wounded 71 others Friday at a hotel near Islamabad's Red Mosque,
after religious students occupied the mosque and demanded the return of
its pro-Taliban cleric.

The explosion occurred soon after police fired tear gas to disperse
hundreds of protesters who for several hours took control of the mosque
which the government reopened to the public Friday — two weeks after a
bloody army siege dislodged militants.

There was no claim of responsibility for the bombing, but Islamic
militants will be suspected as behind what is the latest in a string of
attacks to hit Pakistan since the army operation at the Lal Masjid, or
Red Mosque, in the Pakistani capital left at least 102 people dead.

Amir Mehmood, a witness, said the blast went off inside the Muzaffar
Hotel, located in a crowded market area about a half-kilometer (quarter
mile) from the mosque. He said he saw blood, body parts, and shreds of
the Punjab police uniform inside the hotel.

Neighboring shops and food stalls were also hit by the blast.

"I heard the blast and I came running. A policeman got blown into the
air and landed away from the blast site," said another witness, Imtiaz
Ahmed.

Khalid Pervez, Islamabad's top administrator, said 13 people were
killed, including seven police, and 71 were wounded.

Explosive experts collected parts from the torso of a man's mutilated
body that they suspected was the bomber's, a senior police officer said
on condition of anonymity because he was unauthorized to make media
comments.

Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said investigators had
also recovered a head believed to be that of the attacker.

"We strongly believe that the head is of the suicide bomber," he said.

Cheema said the government had received intelligence information about a
possible suicide bombing in Aabpara, the market area where the hotel is
located. "There will be an inquiry for the security lapse," he said.

Earlier Friday, protesters had occupied the mosque after forcing the
retreat of a government-appointed cleric who was assigned to lead Friday
prayers there.

Police largely stood by as the demonstrators clambered onto ladders and
the roof, and began splashing red paint onto the walls to restore the
mosque's namesake color after a government restoration left it pale
yellow. They also rose a black flag with two crossed swords — meant to
symbolize jihad, or holy war.

But street battles erupted when religious students and other supporters
of the mosque's pro-Taliban former clerics threw stones at dozens of
police in riot gear on a road outside the mosque. After protesters
disregarded police calls to disperse peacefully, police fired the tear
gas, and scattered the crowd which mostly fled back inside the mosque
compound.

The protesters demanded the return of the mosque's former chief cleric,
Abdul Aziz — who is currently in government detention — and shouted
slogans against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Later a cleric from a
seminary associated with the mosque led the prayers.

"Musharraf is a dog! He is worse than a dog! He should resign!" students
shouted. Some lingered over the ruins of a neighboring girls' seminary
that was demolished by authorities this week. Militants had used the
seminary to resist government forces involved in the week-long siege
that ended July 12.

The crowd also shouted support for the mosque's former deputy cleric,
Abdul Rashid Ghazi, who led the siege until he was shot dead by security
forces after refusing to surrender. He had spearheaded a vigilante,
Islamic anti-vice campaign that had challenged the government's writ in
the city.

"Ghazi your blood will lead to a revolution," the protesters chanted.

Over mosque loudspeakers, protesters were vowing to "take revenge for
the blood of martyrs" although some other speakers urged calm after the
unrest broke out.

After the bombing, police retook control of the mosque, said Zafar
Iqbal, the city police chief. Some protesters resisted and about 50
people were arrested.

Friday's reopening was meant to help cool anger over the siege, which
triggered a flare-up in militant attacks on security forces across
Pakistan. Public skepticism still runs high over the government's
accounting of how many people died.

Wahajat Aziz, a government worker who was among the protesters, said
officials were too hasty in reopening the mosque.

"They brought an imam that people had opposed in the past," he said.
"This created tension in the environment. People's emotions have not
cooled down yet."

Earlier, in a speech at the main entrance of the mosque, Liaqat Baloch,
deputy leader of a coalition of hard-line religious parties, the
Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), condemned Musharraf as a "killer." He
declared there would be an Islamic revolution in Pakistan.

"Maulana Abdul Aziz is still the prayer leader of the mosque. The blood
of martyrs will bear fruit. This struggle will reach its destination of
an Islamic revolution. Musharraf is a killer of the constitution. He's a
killer of male and female students. The entire world will see him hang,"
Baloch said.

Pakistan's Geo television showed scenes of pandemonium inside the
mosque, with dozens of young men in traditional Islamic clothing and
prayer caps shouting angrily and punching the air with their hands.

Officials were pushed and shoved by men in the crowd. One man picked up
shoes left outside the mosque door and hurled them at news crews
recording the scene.

Maulana Ashfaq Ahmed, a senior cleric from another mosque in the city
who was assigned by the government to lead Friday's prayers, was quickly
escorted from the mosque, as protesters waved angry gestures at him.

Security was tightened in Islamabad ahead of the mosque's reopening,
with extra police taking up posts around the city and airport-style
metal detectors put in place at the mosque entrance used to screen
worshippers for weapons.