Mosque militants defiant

July 08, 2007

A Pakistani minister says militants holed up in Islamabad's Red Mosque since Tuesday shot and wounded three students. Pakistani commandos blasted new holes in the walls around the mosque where armed militants are reportedly holding hundreds of women and children hostage. Officials says they hoped at least some of the people inside would be able to escape through the holes. The death toll from the conflict rose to at least 21 after an officer was killed leading commandos in an overnight raid to breach the walls of a religious school in the compound.