Foreigners among 24 killed in Islamabad suicide attack
ISLAMABAD: At least 24 people were killed, including foreigners and scores others injured, many of them seriously, when an explosives laden truck rammed into Marriot Hotel here on Saturday.
Over 50 people have been brought to the local hospitals.
The powerful explosion caused fire in many parts of the hotel besides damaging the buildings around the hotel.
Emergency has been declared in the hospitals of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
The Marriott in Islamabad is a favorite place for foreigners to stay and gather, and it has previously been targeted by militants.
Ambulances rushed to the scene, where a fire also burned, smoke hovered and the carcasses of vehicles were scattered. Windows in buildings hundreds of meters away were damaged.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, and its exact cause was unclear. But Pakistan, a U.S. ally in the war on terror, has faced a wave of militant violence in recent weeks following army-led offensives against insurgents in its border regions, though the capital has avoided most of the bloodshed.
I’m watching on Fox. The hotel looks like it is almost completely engulfed in flames. There is an enormous crater in front of the hotel, so a truck bomb seems likely.
I have a message for the people of Pakistan and their government. “If you cannot control the NW territories, we will.” Thank you and out.