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Truck Bomb Destroys Marriott In Pakistan

By CBS/AP

At Least 40 Killed, 250 Injured At Islamabad Luxury Hotel Frequented By Foreigners Truck Bomb Destroys Marriott In Pakistan

Published: Sat, September 20, 2008 - 2:59 pm Last Updated: Sat, September 20, 2008 - 3:03 pm

(CBS/AP) A massive suicide truck bomb devastated the heavily guarded Marriott Hotel in Pakistan's capital Saturday, killing at least 40 people and wounding at least 250. Officials feared there were dozens more dead inside the burning building.

The blast targeting the U.S. hotel chain appeared to be one of the largest terrorist attacks ever in Pakistan, leaving a vast crater some 30 feet deep in front of the main building, where rescuers ferried a stream of bloodied bodies.

The five-story Marriott had been a favorite place for foreigners as well as Pakistani politicians and business people to stay and socialize in Islamabad despite repeated militant attacks.

The attack came just hours after President Asif Ali Zardari made his first address to Parliament and days ahead of the new leader's meeting with President Bush Tuesday in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

Zardari addressed the nation in a brief statement broadcast on national television.

He consoled the victims and said he understood their pain because of the assassination of his wife, former leader Benazir Bhutto.

He derided those responsible as a "cancer" that would be eliminated and appealed to Pakistan's democratic forces to join hands to defeat terrorism.

Rehman Malik, the head of Pakistan's Interior Ministry, told The Associated Press that authorities had received intelligence that there might be militant activity due to Zardari's inaugural address. Security had been tightened, he said.

Though there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, Pakistani officials have warned that militancy could heat up following a wave of cross-border strikes on militant bases by U.S. forces in Afghanistan, which had angered public opinion.

"This is terrorism and we have to fight it together as a nation," Malik told reporters at a hospital overflowing with the wounded.

Pakistani security sources and the hotel's owner said the truck was being examined by security personnel immediately outside the gate when it detonated, reports CBS News correspondent Sheila MacVicar.

The attack occurred at around 8 p.m., when the hotel restaurants would have been packed with dinners, including Muslims breaking the Ramadan fast.

Senior police official Asghar Raza Gardaizi said rescuers had counted at least 40 bodies at the scene and that he feared that there "dozens more dead inside."

Associated Press reporters saw at least nine bodies scattered at the scene. Scores of people, including foreigners, were running out - some of them stained with blood.

A U.S. security official told CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier that the Marriott had "done everything U.S. officials had recommended they do" - to mitigate the risk of an attack, but this was always a possibility.

Because of that, U.S. citizens were always recommended to ask for rooms in the back of the building, away from the street, the official told Dozier.

Two hospitals said 10 foreigners were among those in their treatment, including one each from Germany, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Afghanistan.

A U.S. State Department official led three colleagues through the rubble from the charred building, one of them bleeding heavily from a wound on the side of his head.

One of the four, who identified himself only as Tony, said they had begun moving toward the rear of the Chinese restaurant after the first blast when the second one threw them against the back wall.

"Then we saw a big truck coming to the gates," he said. "After that it was just smoke and darkness."

U.S. Embassy spokesman Lou Fintor said officials were trying to account for embassy staff and any other Americans affected. He said he had no other details.

Ambulances rushed to the area, picking their way through the charred carcasses of vehicles that had been in the street outside. Windows in buildings hundreds of yards away were shattered. Tropical fish from the tanks inside lay among the torn furnishings in the entrance area.

Mohammad Sultan, a hotel employee, said he was in the lobby when something exploded, he fell down and everything temporarily went dark.

"I didn't understand what it was, but it was like the world is finished," he said.

Marriott said it was working with rescue personnel and local authorities to aid the victims.

"We live in a dangerous world and this is a terrible tragedy. We grieve for those people who died, or were injured, and their families," Bill Marriott, chairman and CEO of Marriott International, said in a statement.

The Marriott was the scene of another terrorist attack, in January 2007, when a security guard blocked a suicide bomber who triggered a blast just outside the gate, killing the guard and wounding seven other people.

Official: A Reaction To U.S. Attacks On Militants

Senior Pakistani intelligence officials said the attack appeared to have been staged by militants linked to al Qaeda and may have included militants trained in Pakistan’s Waziristan region along the Afghan border, reports CBS News' Farhan Bokhari.

A senior intelligence official said he suspected the attack to have been staged by militants loyal to Baitullah Mehsud, a Pakistani militant known to have forged close links with al Qaeda.

In the past month, Pakistani security forces have fought militants in the Pak-Afghan border region and stepped up attacks on suspected strongholds. Additionally, since the beginning of September, U.S. military troops based in Afghanistan have also intensified the use of pilotless drones and carried out a commando raid at a suspected militant site in the border region.

“As you can see, we have increased our attacks on these militants. What you have seen at the Marriott hotel is a reaction” said the intelligence official who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity.

The blast caused unprecedented fear across Islamabad, where the sound of the explosion could be heard for several miles, including upscale locations such as the prime minister’s official residence, the president’s official residence, the parliament and the city’s diplomatic quarters.

A second security official who spoke to CBS News said there were foreign nationals among the casualties but declined to reveal the nationalities of those killed or injured.

Western diplomats in Islamabad warned that the attack represents a major setback to Pakistan’s internal security at a time when President Asif Ali Zardari has recently taken charge of the country amid promises to step up the war on terror.