Islamabad: A suicide bomber killed a security guard and himself in an attack outside the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad on Friday, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said.
A PTI report said three persons died and five were injured. The attack took place hours before the Indian High Commission was to hold a Republic Day at the hotel in the evening.
There was a wrecked car on the road at the side of the hotel, and a Reuters journalist saw blood and flesh scattered over the tarmac. "It was a suicide attack. The bomber and one security official of the hotel was killed," Sherpao told Reuters.
Police cordoned off the area and sirens wailed through the district, where many government buildings are located. The Marriott is one of Islamabad's main hotels, and is frequented by foreign diplomats and businessmen.
The US embassy barred staff from visiting the hotel after a small blast in the lobby in October 2004. Seven people were wounded in that blast, including a US diplomat, and the embassy advised US citizens to stay away from the hotel after that blast, though the Pakistani government said it was caused by an electrical short circuit.
Comments
0 comment