ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 13 (UPI) -- Pakistani forces have cleaned Islamabad's Red Mosque, leaving little trace of the blood spilled in the fight against radical Islamic students, says a report.
But for the shattered minarets, smoldering buildings and bullet-scarred walls pointing to the stiff resistance put up by those holed up in the mosque, the military had done everything to sanitize the scene, The Independent reported Friday.
The siege of the mosque, in which dozens died, lasted two days, ending Wednesday.
"It has been cleared of bodies and we have cleaned the blood. We have cleaned it out," an army spokesman said. "We did not want to show grisly things."
Although there is no official estimate of the death toll from the assault dubbed "Operation Silence," authorities said about 80 of the dead were well-trained and well-armed fighters and not students, the report said.
Officials also displayed large quantities of weapons and arms hoarded by the militants.
One student who was in the mosque for seven days and surrendered on the last day dismissed reports about the arms, the report said.
