July 10 (Bloomberg) -- Abdul Rashid Ghazi, the cleric who led a standoff by militants at Islamabad's Red Mosque, was killed in the crossfire after Pakistani troops stormed the complex to end a weeklong siege, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.

Ghazi died today along with 12 militants in the basement of the mosque in the Pakistani capital, the spokesman, Javed Iqbal Cheema, said in a phone interview without elaborating.

Pakistani forces killed at least 50 other militants in the operation, which involved a room-by-room search, the army said earlier. About 100 people fled the complex, including 27 children, Major General Waheed Arshad told reporters. Eight soldiers died, and 50 militants surrendered, the general said.

The dispute began in April when chief cleric Maulana Muhammad Abdul Aziz, Ghazi's brother, established a religious court at the Red Mosque, or Lal Masjid, to try to bring Islamabad under Islamic law. Today's raid started after 11 hours of talks between the government and Ghazi failed. One negotiator said the two sides had reached a draft accord that was then rejected by President Pervez Musharraf.

To contact the reporters on this story: Khalid Qayum in Islamabad at kqayum@bloomberg.net; Khaleeq Ahmed in Islamabadt .

Last Updated: July 10, 2007 10:42 EDT