If it happened over here...

We'd call it "suicide by cop."

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BREAKING: Ding, dong... Allah calling

A Pakistani cleric leading militants battling troops at a mosque in the capital, Islamabad, has been killed, Interior Ministry officials say.

“The government is using full force. This is naked aggression,” Mr. Ghazi said hours before his death. “My martyrdom is certain now.”

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Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder said Pakistani officials had been hoping for a peaceful end to the seven-day standoff at the Islamabad mosque after negotiators offered religious leaders inside a deal.

The deal was believed to have been arranged after Hussain met Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president.

Hyder said Hussain had gone back to the mosque with an offer of safe passage, one of the demands of Abdul Rashid Ghazi, the mosque's deputy leader.

The Pakistani government has bent over backwards over the last week to try accommodate these hostage takers.

Obviously, these fanatics had no intention of giving it up. Just the other day they killed a Pakistani Special Forces Colonel who was supervising breaches in the wall to allow additional egress for hostages.

The fighting continues and two more soldiers are reported dead.

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BACKGROUND: Spoiling for a fight

Tensions at the mosque began several months ago when its students launched an anti-vice campaign in a quest to enforce Islamic law.

They also kidnapped several people, accused of involvement in prostitution, including seven Chinese, who were later freed.

Bitter street battles broke out on July 3 between police and the mosque's radical students, and it has been surrounded under a 24-hour shoot-on-sight curfew ever since.

No happy ending here.

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UPDATE: Do the math, dummies

The army is the biggest gang in town. They've got better weapons and they're specially trained to break stuff and kill people.

But that won't deter religious crazies.

Commandos stormed the sprawling mosque compound before dawn. Twelve hours later, the army said the complex was 80 per cent cleared of militants but it was still trying to root out well-armed defenders whom the government accuses of holding a number of hostages.

A local relief agency said the army asked for 400 white funeral shrouds.

More to the point, after taking a bunch of casualties, these guys are gonna be majorly pissed.

Don't look for too many survivors.

Technorati Tags: Religion of Peace, Lal Masjid, terrorism