'Fatal' blast at Islamabad hotel

[Bull]

At least one person is reported to have been killed in a powerful explosion at a top hotel in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.
It is not clear what caused the blast in the car park of the Marriott hotel. Police have sealed off the blast site.

The Marriott is situated in an area of the city where government buildings and diplomatic missions are located.

One Pakistani television station reported that the body of a man had been seen lying near the scene.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6301547.stm

 

[Spring Onion]

That is something to be worried as its a hotel mostly used by foreigners and howcome some1 land there with secuirty check.

 

[A.Rahman]

That is something to be worried as its a hotel mostly used by foreigners and howcome some1 land there with secuirty check.

It can be a suicide attack; lets wait for more news as the story unravels.

 

[Spring Onion]

Rehman it is suicide bombing and i had heard from some sources that they had prepared list of 50 persons for suicide bombing now 48 left with explosion of this one. One was yesterday at Hangu noe this in Islamabad.

 

[Bull]

'Suicide blast' at Pakistan hotel

Hotel staff cover one of the bodies
A suicide bomber has killed himself and one other at a top hotel in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, officials say.
Police have sealed off the blast area in the car park of the Marriott hotel.

"It was a suicide attack. The bomber and one security official of the hotel were killed," Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao told Reuters news agency.

The Marriott is located near government buildings and diplomatic missions. Police say at least five people hurt in the explosion were taken to hospital.

'Huge bang'

Witnesses say the bomber tried to enter the hotel through a back door that is used by staff.

It was a huge bang - we rushed outside and there was chaos

Hotel guest Mohammed Aamir

He was stopped by the security guard and detonated his explosives after a scuffle.

The BBC's Barbara Plett at the scene says part of the hotel and a number of cars were also damaged.

Frightened hotel guests spoke of chaos after the explosion, which could be heard in other parts of the city.

"I was taking lunch at the Royal Elephant Thai restaurant inside the Marriott when the entire restaurant was shaken by a bang," one guest, Mohammed Aamir, told the AFP news agency.

"It literally shook us out of our seats. It was a huge bang. We rushed outside and there was chaos."

The city's Poly Clinic hospital said it was treating four of those injured in the explosion.

"One is serious and three others have minor injuries," doctor Murtaza Nadeem told AFP.

Security

The Marriott was due to host a reception later on Friday marking the 58th Republic Day of Pakistan's neighbour and rival, India. It is not clear if there is any link with the bombing.

Some observers say the bomber may have been trying to target a bar in the hotel's basement where Westerners and other foreigners gather.

But they point out that if he had wanted to inflict maximum damage he would have entered by the front door.

Security at the Marriott is tight, with guests and vehicles subjected to checks. An explosion at the hotel in October 2004 injured five people.

The US embassy warned its staff to stay away from the Marriott after the blast, even though it was blamed by Pakistan's authorities on an electrical short circuit.

Bombings are fairly frequent in Pakistan, and are often blamed on Islamic militants. But there have been few attacks in the purpose-built capital itself, where security is easier to maintain.

High security alerts were called in the cities of Karachi and Peshawar following Friday's blast.

 

[Bull]

If it wasnt for the security guard, more lives would have been lost.

 

[genmirajborgza786]

Hotel staff cover one of the bodies
A suicide bomber

 

[JK!]

Rehman it is suicide bombing and i had heard from some sources that they had prepared list of 50 persons for suicide bombing now 48 left with explosion of this one. One was yesterday at Hangu noe this in Islamabad.

My family come from Hangu can you give me a link so I can read up on this.

 

[JK!]

Just read up on both blasts.

Yeah with Hangu it seems to be not quite as bad as the one last January which basically led to skirmishes by the Shopkeepers from Tirah whose shops got burned down. My relatives own quite a few markets and suffered financial loss.

The guys from Tirah basically took the fight to the Shias who had taken up positions around the hills and hammered them with RPG and Mortar fire. My cousin said don't pick a fight with these guys and respect them. If you steal a chicken from them it is excuse enough for them to kill you.

Anyway as usual following one of these the army got called in to restore order. The local police couldn't do anything and legged it.

Creepiest thing is that the shias were filming the ashoura procession and in the released edited version you can see the suicide bomber. He is the only guy not beating his chest, wearing a blanket and looking in both directions very suspiciously.

Bombs are normal in Hangu but not quite in Islamabad. In a book called Fighting Forces Keysersoze recommended has a picture of a Baluchi Infantryman manning a post with an MG3 machine gun in Islamabad. From that I expected the security standard to be very high. Seems this guy slipped the net.

 

[Cheetah786]

Yeah with Hangu it seems to be not quite as bad as the one last January which basically led to skirmishes by the Shopkeepers from Tirah whose shops got burned down. My relatives own quite a few markets and suffered financial loss.

The guys from Tirah basically took the fight to the Shias who had taken up positions around the hills and hammered them with RPG and Mortar fire. My cousin said don't pick a fight with these guys and respect them. If you steal a chicken from them it is excuse enough for them to kill you.

Creepiest thing is that the shias were filming the ashoura procession and in the released edited version you can see the suicide bomber. He is the only guy not beating his chest, wearing a blanket and looking in both directions very suspiciously.

so what are you saying is shias shouldnt protect them selfs from this Garbadge.but wahabies have the right to blow up people.

by the way this is the reason why even bending backwards you cant convince investors to invest in pakistan.Till pakistani authroities become serious enough to fight this. GOOD LUCK WITH INVESTMENT SCHEMES.or TOURIST for that matter.
simplest thing would be to find out where this garbadge came from AND punish his family to get to money trail.But i doubt that will happens .other then a news berief.

 

[Contrarian]

Sad News
May god give peace to the soul of the security guard.

 

[Neo]

Its sad, how could this happen in the capital where security is usually very high near all the hotels and bazars?

 

[HAIDER]

This disease has only one cure...education to respect human life.

 

[dabong1]

Musharraf is the one to blame.
If it was not for his stupid policy's there would be no suicide bombers in pakistan.

 

[Owais]

Taliban link probed in Islamabad suicide bombing


ISLAMABAD (updated on: January 27, 2007, 10:58 PST): Investigators probing a suicide blast at a top hotel in federal capital said on Saturday they were looking at possible links to pro-Taliban extremists fighting government forces near the Afghan border.

Police said they were examining the head, a leg and an arm of the bomber who detonated explosives strapped to his body when he was prevented from entering the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad on Friday, killing a security guard.

"Experts are examining the few remains of the bomber's body in a bid to identify him," said the interior ministry crisis management chief Brigadier Javed Cheema.

Officials said a sketch of the bomber could not be prepared as no witnesses had so far come forward, nor had hotel security cameras filmed the attacker.

Interior ministry officials said no group had yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

"We suspect (the attack) could be by militants opposed to the government's drive against Taliban elements in the tribal regions," a senior security official said on condition of anonymity.

The official said the bomber appeared to be ill-trained and poorly briefed, which suggested he was from the north-western tribal belt rather than affiliated to better-funded sectarian groups.

"The door where he tried to enter is locked from inside and there is security present in front of it. Even if the guard had not stopped him, it would not have been possible for the bomber to enter the premises," the official said.

The pattern of the bombing closely resembled suicide bombings in Afghanistan, where scores of such attacks last year blamed on the Taliban did not cause widespread damage and killed mostly the bombers, he added.

President Pervez Musharraf condemned the suicide attack and said it would not affect the "unwavering commitment" of the government to root out terrorism and extremism from the country.

Meanwhile, the authorities placed major cities, including Karachi and Peshawar, on high alert after the Marriott blast, and the US and Britain warned their nationals to exercise caution.

The attack happened hours before a Republic Day function at the hotel hosted by the high commission of India.

Indian High Commissioner Satyabrata Pal told the ceremony, which was held despite the bombing, that the attack was evidence that terrorism knew no boundaries.

"There has been speculation about what might and might not be the target of this attack but what it establishes really is that it (terrorism) has no borders and it is a common enemy," he said.

"We must fight this common menace together in order to defeat it", Pal said.



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