Dozens Killed in Pakistan Hotel Bombing

At least 40 people were killed and scores more injured Saturday when a truck bomb detonated near the entrance of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan—a destination for Westerners and other visitors to the Pakistani capital city—as heads of state dined at the prime minister’s house nearby.

The New York Times:

Amjad Ali Khan, a guard on duty at a side entrance to the hotel, said he saw four to five bodies in the hotel parking lot and that he helped carry out 40 bodies from inside the hotel. He said they were “in the lobby and in the restaurant and everywhere.”

“There were very few people injured,” he said. “They were all dead.” He said he saw three Western women who had died from head wounds.

“They are terrorists,” he said when asked who he thought was responsible for the blast. “They threatened a few days ago. We heard there were four to five suicide bombers on the loose.”

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AP photo / B.K. Bangash

Rescuers carry an injured person after a truck bomb explosion at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday.