FBI Response to Allegations of Mosque Surveillance and Monitoring of the Muslim Community

Tuesday, June 2, 2008
FBI Assistant Director John Miller issued the following statement:

“The FBI does not monitor the lawful activities of individuals in the United States, nor does the FBI have a surveillance program to monitor the constitutionally protected activities of houses of worship. We do not target or monitor legal activity of Muslim groups anywhere in the nation.

“Investigations or surveillance of individuals or organizations are predicated on specific standards set in the Department Of Justice Attorney General Guidelines.

“The FBI is the lead agency for investigating violations of federal civil rights laws, and we take that responsibility very seriously. Over the last several years, the FBI has worked to strengthen its relationships with Muslim communities, resulting in many valued partnerships.

“We appreciate the assistance of the community groups for bringing these concerns to our attention. We intend to continue this dialogue.”

Taken from a press release by the FBI National Press Office

Pakistani Security Forces Storm Mosque Compound

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Pakistani Security Forces
Storm Mosque Compound

after Failed Talks
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
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Pakistani security forces have stormed a radical mosque compound in Islamabad, killing some 50 militants believed to be holed up inside with hostages... Gunfire and explosions erupted as security forces stormed the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque compound after talks broke down to end a weeklong standoff with the militants inside...
Read the rest of the story at Radio Free Afghanistan
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>>> PrinceGeorgeCitizen.com has this take that goes in part like this... Commandos stormed the mosque compound before dawn, and more than eight hours later were still trying to root out the well-armed defenders said to be holding about 150 hostages.
Read the rest at link below...
Troops storm Pakistan mosque compound after talks fail; nearly 60 killed
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More to come on this story as the events wind down...
AubreyJ.........
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* Forces Storm Pakistan Mosque *

Video posted on LiveLeak By: smeblee

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UPDATE: 11:30am CDT

Bloomberg.com is now reporting that the assault is almost over and the Cleric, Abdul Rashid Ghazi has been killed. Their report starts off like this... An operation by Pakistani troops to end a standoff with militants at Islamabad's Red Mosque was “almost over” late today after deputy chief cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi was killed in the crossfire, an army spokesman said... The assault was in the “final stages,” the spokesman, Major General Waheed Arshad, said in a phone interview from the capital. “We have control over 90 percent of the complex. Some militants are still resisting,” he said...
Read the rest HERE

UPDATE: 10:00pm CDT

The BBC News website has this update... Pakistan's army says an operation to flush out militants from a mosque in Islamabad is in its final stages - 24 hours after troops stormed the complex.
Red Mosque Operation 'nears end'

* UPDATE: Wednesday, 8:00am CDT *
WRAL.com has this update this morning that starts off like this... Pakistani commandos cleared the warren-like Red Mosque complex of all die-hard defenders Wednesday, ending a fierce eight-day siege and street battles which left more than 80 dead... "The first phase of the operation is over. There are no more militants left inside," Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Washeed Arshad said...
Read the rest of the story HERE

*POST END*
More to come in future post above this one...

Pakistan Siege Cleric Agrees To "Last-Ditch" Talks

Abdul Rashid Ghazi has agreed to hold talks after the President [President General Pervez Musharraf] announced the former PM would broker them... Officials say a Pakistani cleric under siege in a mosque in the capital, Islamabad, has agreed to hold talks with seven top religious leaders, overseen by a former prime minister. Abdul Rashid Ghazi made the concession after President Pervez Musharraf authorised Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, who served as prime minister for three months in 2004, to broker the "last-ditch" negotiations to end the week-long stand-off...
Read the rest at the echoroukonline.com website

File photo by the PresidentOfPakistan.Gov website

Pakistani Authorities Issue "Last Warning" Sunday to Rebel Islamist Cleric and His Fighters

Pakistani authorities issued a "last warning" on Sunday to a rebel Islamist cleric and his fighters holed up in an Islamabad mosque, as speculation mounted security forces would launch a full-scale assault... "This is the last warning for you to surrender," authorities said over loudspeakers outside the mosque...
Read this story in full at Canada.com

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf tells mosque militants "surrender or die"

President Pervez Musharraf told Islamist militants barricaded in a mosque on Saturday to surrender or die, while concern grew for hundreds of women and children inside the besieged compound in the Pakistani capital... "If they don't surrender, I'm saying it here, they will be killed," Musharraf said, in his first public comments on the deadly stand-off in Islamabad.
Read the rest of the story at the Canada.com website

>>> GulfNews.com has this report... Pakistani forces seized control of a religious seminary run by militant clerics of embattled Lal Masjid ... which is a setback for the besieged Abdul Rashid Ghazi who has declared a fight-to-finish...
Read story in full at link below...
Security forces storm men's seminary

File photo by the PresidentOfPakistan.Gov website

Clashes at Pakistan Mosque Leave Several Dead and Wounded

The IBNLive.com website has this story today and it starts off like this... Militant students of Lal Masjid, and madrassas attached to it, exchanged gunfire with paramilitary soldiers in Islamabad on Tuesday morning. Some teargas shells were also fired... The student movement is seeking to impose Taliban-style social values in the Pakistani capital...
Read the story at link below...
Lal Masjid Gunbattle Rages On, Death Toll Rises To 6
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>>> The adnki.com website reports... The death toll from the clashes between Pakistani security forces and radical Islamic students in central Islamabad is mounting, with at least ten confirmed deaths, including policemen, students and a journalist...
Read the rest of the story below...
PAKISTAN: DEATH TOLL FROM CLASHES MOUNTS
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>>> HindustanTimes.com is reporting...
Explosion rocks Lal Masjid area
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* Pakistani Clashes *

A Pakistani soldier was killed in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Tuesday when radical students from a local mosque clashed with security forces.

The crowd outside the mosque 00:00-00:05

A gunman loading his magazine 00:05-00:14

A gunman wearing gas mask behind barricades 00:14-00:22

Masked gunmen 00:22-00:27

Smoke bombs exploding, people carrying guns and sticks running 00:27-00:51

Burka-clad women carrying sticks shouting slogans in support of students 00:51-01:06
Write-up and Video posted on LiveLeak by smeblee
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More to come...
AubreyJ.........