General Pervez Musharraf a Major Save Khana-e-Kaaba Attack in 1979

1979 Pakistan Army SSG Commandos Headed by General Pervez Musharraf . Then a Major Save Khana-e-Kaaba Attack

An elite unit of Pakistan Army SSG Commandos called “Rahbar” of the SSG headed by Col Tariq Mahmood a distiguished SSG Commander who later was killed as ONE STAR General. According to another source this pakistani unit are headed by General Pervez Musharraf (then a Major), who would later become the Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army and the President of Pakistan, the commando battalion of the Pakistan Army.& as another one more source Unit leader is Flt. Lt Ali Salman of Pakistan Air force. He mobilized the SSG commandos were rushed to Mecca from Pakistan on Saudi Government’s request.. The SSG commandos were rushed to Mecca from Pakistan on Saudi Government’s request.In the middle of the day, Saudi troops abseiled from helicopters directly into the central courtyard of the mosque. The Saudi soldiers were picked off by insurgents holding superior positions. After failure of this exercise, Pakistani SSG Commandos split/showered the water allover the Grand Masjid floors even in Minarets. This situation was very surprising for the insurgents that what was going to be happen next. On having water all over the floors of the Grand Masjid, Pak Army Commandos released the electric current in the water and insurgent suspended their activities and start changing their positions to save them from the electric shocks. During this Pak Army Commandos were dropped by helicopters into the Grand Masjid in different locations and they easily captured many of the insurgents alive.
The insurgents aired their demands from the mosque’s loudspeakers, calling for the cutoff of oil exports to the United States and the expulsion of all foreign civilian and military experts from the Arabian Peninsula.On 25 November, the Arab Socialist Action Party – Arabian Peninsula issued a statement from Beirut alleging to clarify the demands of the insurgents. The party, however, denied any involvement of its own in the seizure.
Officially, the Saudi government took the position of not aggressively taking the mosque, but rather to starve the militants. Nevertheless, but rather to starve the militants. Nevertheless, several unsuccessful assaults were undertaken, at least one of them through the underground tunnels in and around the mosque.
By 27 November, most of the mosque was retaken by the Saudi National Guard and the Army, though they suffered heavy casualties in the assault. In the catacombs under the mosque, however, several militants continued to resist and tear gas was used to force them out. Several of the top militants escaped the siege and days later sporadic fighting erupted in other parts of the city in trying to capture them.
The battle had lasted more than two weeks, and had officially left “255 pilgrims, troops and fanatics” killed and “another 560 injured … although diplomats suggested the toll was higher.” Military casualties were 127 dead and 451 injured.