Pakistan ? Thousands of soldiers rolled across northwestern Pakistan on Friday, a day after President Gen. Pervez Musharraf vowed to follow the storming of Islamabad’s Red Mosque by eliminating extremism from “every corner” of the country.

Anti-Musharraf protesters took to the streets of every major city to blame the U.S.-backed leader for the violence at the mosque, some chanting slogans in favor of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

But the rallies were smaller than expected, and there was a lull in the violent backlash from militant groups that had staged suicide bombings and attacks on foreign aid groups in reaction to the mosque siege.

Officials said thousands of soldiers were deploying to various parts of North West Frontier Province, which borders Afghanistan and where militant groups are increasingly active.

An army brigade was heading up the Swat Valley, 75 miles northeast of Peshawar, where a suicide car bomber killed three policeman at a checkpoint Thursday, said Mohammed Javed, the valley’s top administrator.

That attack raised to 35 the number of people killed in bombings and shootings in the northwest since the Red Mosque crisis began July 3.