ISLAMABAD, July 27 (RIA Novosti) - A powerful explosion, which witnesses said was detonated by a suicide bomber close to the Red Mosque in the capital Islamabad, killed at least 10 people Friday, local television said.
The blast occurred following clashes between police and Islamic students rallying near the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, which reopened earlier Friday after a bloody army siege over two weeks ago, when militants barricaded themselves in the building. More than 100 people were killed during the siege and the operation to oust Islamists.
Earlier in the day, fundamentalist students forced out a cleric assigned by the government to lead Friday prayers demanding the return of the pro-Taliban cleric, Abdul Aziz, who was captured while trying to flee the mosque during the siege, the Associated Press reported.
