অ্যাকসেসিবিলিটি লিংক

New Details Emerge in Islamabad Bombing


Pakistan's Interior Ministry chief says the bomb used in Saturday's explosion at a hotel in Islamabad was sophisticated and the attack was well-coordinated.

Rehman Malik told reporters on Sunday that 53 people, including four foreigners, were killed when the suicide bomber detonated 600 kilograms of explosives at the Marriott Hotel in the capital. At least 266 people were injured in the blast and ensuing fire.

The hotel's security video shows the attacker tried, but failed, to ram an explosives-laden dump truck through a barrier gate, setting off a small blast. Footage shows the guards tried to douse the truck's flames before the main blast outside the American-owned hotel.

Malik says no one has been arrested, but officials suspect al-Qaida-linked Taliban militants were behind the attack.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday asked the nation to isolate what he called the "black sheep" who are trying to destabilize Pakistan's democracy and economy.

Officials are offering a 130-thousand dollar reward for information on who organized the attack that gutted the Marriott.

The blaze after the main explosion swept through the hotel as many guests were breaking the Ramadan fast with an evening meal.

Officials say the Pakistani military is helping local rescue workers search the wreckage.

The Czech Republic's ambassador to Islamabad, Ivo Zdarek, two Americans and a Vietnamese national are among the dead.

Denmark's Foreign Ministry says a Danish diplomat remains missing.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the bombing a "heinous terrorist attack," and he said no cause can justify the indiscriminate targeting of civilians.

Leaders throughout the world have sharply denounced the terrorist act.

XS
SM
MD
LG