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Hostages freed after raid on 'brothel'

From CNN's Syed Mohsin Naqvi

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LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) -- Students from a radical mosque released nine hostages Saturday after seizing them hours earlier from an Islamabad acupuncture clinic they raided, the deputy administrator of the mosque said.

The captives were seven Chinese women and two Pakistani men, he told a news conference.

Police said about 30 students from Islamabad's Lal Masjid -- or Red Mosque -- armed with batons stormed the building, claiming it was being used as a brothel. The hostages were taken back to the students' school.

"This place was used as a brothel house and despite our warnings the administration failed to take any action, so we decided to take action on our own," one student told an Islamabad TV station.

After the kidnapping, police and local officials negotiated with the students for the release of the hostages, authorities said.

A government source told CNN there was a possibility a military operation could have been launched against the students.

The Red Mosque students took several police officers hostage in recent weeks and released them several days later.

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