Cleric of besieged Pakistani mosque claims troops killed 70 students

The top cleric at a besieged mosque in the Pakistan capital accused security forces on Saturday of killing more than 70 of his students, but said he and his supporters preferred martyrdom to capture.

Explosions and intense gunfire continued overnight and Saturday as thousands of troops ringing the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, attempted to end a standoff but held back from an all-out assault. Although the government says only 19 people have died since Tuesday, Abdul Rashid Ghazi, the mosque's defiant cleric, told the local Geo television channel that more than 70 of his students had been slain by government gunfire. (AP)