A rebel cleric said he and his fighters hoped their deaths would spark an Islamic revolution in Pakistan, as commandos blew holes in the walls of their besieged mosque compound to help women and children escape.
Troops have surrounded the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, in Islamabad since Tuesday when clashes between armed student radicals and government forces erupted after months of tension.
The death toll from the conflict rose to at least 21 when an officer was killed early today as he led commandos in a raid to blow up the walls of a girls' religious school, or madrasa, in the compound.
Government and military officials say rebel cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi has 50 to 60 hard-core militants - some from groups linked to al-Qaeda - leading the fighting, and hundreds of women and children hostages.
Ghazi denies anyone is being used as a human shield. Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao said militants shot and wounded three students trying to get away today.
Occasional gunfire rang out during the day. President Pervez Musharraf yesterday gave the militants a "surrender-or-die" ultimatum. Ghazi has said he prefers "martyrdom". In a statement carried by Sunday newspapers the cleric said he and his followers hoped their deaths would spark a revolution.
"We have firm belief in God that our blood will lead to a revolution," wrote Ghazi. "God willing, Islamic revolution will be the destiny of this nation." His Taliban-style movement reflects the militancy seeping into cities from tribal areas on the Afghan border.
Religious Affairs Minister Mohammad Ejaz-ul-Haq told a news conference Lal Masjid's defenders included "terrorists, militants, who are wanted within, and outside, the country".
Ghazi has said he has nearly 2,000 followers with him. The minister put the number at 200 to 500. Lal Masjid has been a hotbed of militancy for years, known for its support for Afghanistan's Taliban and opposition to Musharraf's backing for the US-led campaign against terrorism.