70 students killed by Pakistani soldiers, claims cleric

The top-ranking cleric of a besieged radical mosque in Pakistan's capital Islamabad claimed today that government forces have killed more than 70 of his students, saying he and his supporters prefer martyrdom to capture.

Explosions and intense gunfire continued overnight and early today as thousands of troops circling the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, attempted to end a five-day standoff but held back from an all-out assault.