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 ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Gunfire rang out as a plane carrying Pakistan's president left an air base Friday, and police found anti-aircraft guns on a nearby roof. The apparent assassination attempt came as the army besieged extremists at the capital's Red Mosque.
The incident heightened the sense of crisis in Pakistan, where Islamic militants have long chastened President Gen. Pervez Musharraf for allying his government with Washington. Musharraf also has lately become entangled in a political uproar over his move to oust the chief justice.
This week's fighting around the Red Mosque in Islamabad has added to tensions. Compounding the unease, police said a suicide attacker pedaled a bicycle bomb into a military convoy in Pakistan's restive northwest and killed four soldiers.
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