Agencies

Islamabad, Jul 10: Pakistani security forces launched an all-out assault to clear militants from a mosque compound in the capital, Islamabad, after talks to end a week-long standoff broke down, the military said.

"We launched an operation at 4 a.m. (2300 GMT) to clear the madrasa of militants," said military spokesman Major-General Waheed Arshad, referring to a religious school in the mosque compound.

A short while later he said troops had entered the compound of the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, and were coming under fire from the militants inside.

As gunfire and explosions were heard 20 children escaped from the compound.

The clash between the government and militant students has lasted for seven days in the heart of Islamabad. The violence at the Red Mosque has claimed at least 21 lives.

Earlier, religious scholars and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, the former premier, gathered outside to plead with the Islamist militants to send out the dead and wounded along with women and children, a day after authorities gave "a final warning" to surrender.

President Pervez Musharraf's government said that children were either coerced or persuaded to stay behind to act as human shields for the fighters, some belonging to militant groups linked to al-Qa'eda.

Abdul Rashid Ghazi, the Lal Masjid cleric, and his fighters have scorned warnings to surrender or die. Ghazi said he and his followers hoped their deaths would spark an Islamic revolution.

Government and military officials say there are 50 to 60 militants leading the fighting, but most of the others - thought to number around 150 - are women and children.

The Lal Masjid has been a centre of militancy for years, known for its support for Afghanistan's Taliban and opposition to Musharraf's backing for the United States.