The Pakistani government’s crackdown on the Red Mosque has enraged the Religion of Peace™, and clerics are now calling for “holy war” against Pervez Musharraf: 24 Troops Die in Pakistan Suicide Attack.

Islamic militants launched a deadly suicide attack, detonated a roadside bomb and fired rockets on Saturday as thousands of Pakistani troops deployed to the northwestern frontier to thwart the launch of a holy war, officials said.

At least 24 soldiers were killed in the suicide attack on a military convoy, an army spokesman said. The escalating violence along the rugged Afghanistan border, a haven for local and foreign extremists, follows the government’s bloody attack on Islamabad’s Red Mosque which sparked calls for revenge from radical groups.

“With help from local tribal elders, we are trying to ensure that militants lay down their arms and stop issuing calls for jihad against the government,” a senior military official said on condition of anonymity, because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Maulana Fazlullah, a radical cleric who has close links to the outlawed Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Law, has told supporters to prepare for jihad against President Gen. Pervez Musharaff for the assault, the official said.