At least 1 dead, 10 hurt in Islamabad restaurant blast

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ISLAMABAD, March 15 (Reuters/AFP): A blast at an Italian restaurant in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Saturday appears to have killed at least 1 person and wounded 10, according to a private tv channel. It said a foreign woman was dead. A witness told Reuters the explosion occurred in a garden dining area at the rear of the Luna Caprese restaurant, which is frequented by expatriates, including diplomats, aid agency workers, and journalists. A police official said a blast hit a restaurant frequented by foreigners in the federal capital. “There was an explosion inside the Luna Caprese Italian restaurant in the centre of the capital in Supermarket area,” police official Mohammad Ishtiaq told AFP. An AFP photographer at the scene said several of the injured who were stretchered out of the restaurant were foreigners. Witnesses also confirmed casualties. “There are lots of injured people who have lost their limbs and legs, foreigners were inside. It's a very bad situation. We don't know what has happened,” an employee at the restaurant told AFP by telephone. “It was a very powerful blast. There is a lot of blood here, the walls are splattered with it. I see lots of human flesh,” the employee said. (First Posted @ 20:50 PST Updated @ 23:22 PST)
- DAWN - Latest Stories; March 15, 2008

 

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WASHINGTON, March 17 (AFP): At least four US FBI agents were among the injured in a bomb attack at a popular restaurant in Pakistan, ABC television reported Sunday. ABC, which did not identify its source on the online report said, “multiple sources said the attack was under investigation to see whether it was based on the terrorists having learned in advance of the agents' presence. “Washington officials meanwhile, downplayed the possibility that the attack specifically targeted the agents based on advance intelligence,” the ABC report added. The US State Department, reached for comment Sunday, did not immediately confirm or deny the report of FBI staff being injured. (Posted @ 09:00 PST)
- DAWN - Latest Stories; March 17, 2008