Rawalpindi, Oct 11 (IANS) Pakistani troops stormed the army headquarters here at dawn Sunday to end a siege by Islamists, with the stunning two-day drama leaving 19 people dead and the country bruised.
The commandos freed 39 hostages following fierce fighting that ended the most audacious assault on the Pakistani military by militants angered by a crackdown in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

As Pakistanis watched in disbelief, the leader of the terror group that masterminded Saturday’s attack on the army headquarters, Aqeel alias Dr. Usman, was arrested. He had also planned the March attack on Sri Lanka’s cricket team in Lahore.

Four terrorists, two commandos and three of the hostages lay dead Sunday, adding to Saturday’s casualty figure of 10 killed — six soldiers and four terrorists.

Among the dead were a brigadier and a lieutenant colonel, the Pakistani media said.

The dramatic attack began at midday Saturday when a group of heavily armed gunmen wearing military uniform and riding a Suzuki vehicle raided the army headquarters in the heart of Rawalpindi.

They killed six soldiers while losing four of their own. Another group barged into the fortified complex. In the ensuing confusion they took many soldiers and civilian employees of the army hostage.

All hostages were forced into a room, with a suicide bomber threatening to blow them up if they dared to escape. Terrorists quickly placed explosives at four places.

Pakistani officials who had claimed after one hour of fighting Saturday that all was under conrtrol realized to their shock that some of the rebels had entered the complex.

After a tense night, sound of explosions and gunfire rang out at 6 a.m. Sunday as troops swiftly moved into the compound.

After intense fighting, with one of the militants keeping the commandos at bay for hours, the bloody drama finally ended.

“By the grace of god, the operation has been successfully completed,” Major General Athar Abbas told reporters. “Hostages have been rescued from the building and four terrorists are dead.

“The main focus of the operation was a suicide bomber who could have detonated the suicide vest he was wearing,” he added. “Our soldiers killed him skilfully before he could pull the trigger.”

Two civilian employees of the base and a soldier who were among the hostages died while three more were injured during the rescue attempt. Two commandos were also killed.

Army Chief General Ashfaque Kayani later visited the headquarters.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik later warned that there was a threat to the lives of “known personalities” in Pakistan.

“There is a threat to the lives of the country’s known personalities,” Malik told Geo TV, adding that 56 terror suspects had been arrested from Islamabad and surrounding areas.

Malik said Pakistan was being destablilised and claimed that terrorists were receiving arms from Afghanistan.

Pakistan has witnessed a string of terror attacks, each one deadlier than the other.

Hakimullah Mehsud, the new chief of the Pakistani Taliban, has vowed to avenge US drone attacks on his men and civilians in the sprawling, lawless region bordering Afghanistan.

On Friday, a suicide bomber detonated a car stuffed with explosives in a busy market of Peshawar, killing 53 people and injuring over 100.

A suicide bomber blew himself up Oct 5 at the UN World Food Programme office in Islamabad, killing five people.