Siege of Lal Masjid - Al-Qaeda and Foreign Fighters

Al-Qaeda and Foreign Fighters

Pakistani intelligence officials said they found letters from Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, after taking control of Lal Masjid. They were written to Abdul Rashid Ghazi and Abdul Aziz Ghazi, directing the brothers and militants to conduct an armed revolt. Government sources believe that as many as 18 foreign fighters from Uzbekistan, Egypt, and Afghanistan had arrived weeks before the final confrontation and established firing ranges to teach the students, including children, how to handle weapons properly. Diplomats were surprised by how quickly al-Zawahiri condemned the attack on the mosque and called on Pakistanis to rise up against Musharraf's government. Officials blamed the presence of foreign fighters for the breakdown of negotiations, as they seemed about to reach a deal to end the standoff peacefully. According to government sources and western diplomats, the Al-Qaeda fighters in the mosque sought martyrdom instead.

Al-Qaeda's second-in-command, al-Zawahiri, issued a videotape on July 11, 2007, calling for Pakistanis to join jihad in revenge for the attack by the Pakistan's Army on the mosque. Al-Zawahri's four-minute address was titled The Aggression against Lal Masjid and dedicated solely to the clash between the Lal Masjid militants and the Pakistan Army. The video was released by al-Qaeda's media wing, as-Sahab and subtitled in English.