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 Suicide attack on Paki Hotel
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Posted on 06-10-09 12:54 AM     Reply [Subscribe]
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Suicide attack on Pakistani hotel










A view of the Pearl Continental hotel after the blast showing collapsed floors, 9 June
The bomb demolished part of the hotel











A suicide bomb attack on a luxury
hotel in the north-west Pakistani city of Peshawar, has killed 15
people and injured at least 60.

Gunmen stormed the outer
security barrier at the Pearl Continental Hotel before blowing up a
vehicle containing, police say, 500kg of explosives.

Two foreign citizens - both UN workers - were killed and several were injured.

A series of bombs have hit cities, including Peshawar, since a government crackdown on Taliban militants.















ANALYSIS




Jill McGivering, BBC News




Jill McGivering, BBC News



The
PC is a well-known landmark in Peshawar. Often used by foreigners but
also by Pakistani officials and businessmen, it is known for good
Western as well as local food and 5-star service. All factors which may
have contributed to its becoming a target.







When
I visited recently, there was a whole series of security checks. First
of vehicles, as they drove in, past heavy concrete barriers. Then of
people, screened by metal detectors and bag searches.








But suicide bombers and gunmen are hard to stop. There are clear echoes
of the devastating assault on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad last
September.







Security
in Peshawar has worsened dramatically in the last year. Many of those
who can afford to move have taken their families to Islamabad or beyond
- abandoning a city now becoming consumed by fear and violence.










Peshawar, the main city in the country's north-west, is not far from
the Swat valley, where the government offensive has been concentrated.

Pakistani
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani swiftly condemned the attack but the
blast hardly comes as a surprise, says the BBC's Chris Morris, in
Islamabad.

While there was no immediate claim of responsibility
for Tuesday night's attack on what is the most prominent hotel in
Peshawar, our correspondent says most people will assume it to be the
work of the Taliban.

A symbol of Peshawar's contact with the
rest of the world, a place where government officials and foreign
dignitaries are accustomed to staying, has been attacked, he adds.

The attack killed a Serbian UN refugee agency worker and a Unicef worker from the Philippines.

The injured include a British man and a German national, Peshawar district coordination officer Sahibzada Anis said.

At least a dozen UN employees were staying at the hotel at the time of the explosion.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke of "a heinous terrorist attack which no cause can justify".












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Video from the scene of the blast







'Shouting and running'

Eyewitnesses told the BBC News
website the blast could be seen up to 5km (3 miles) away. The blast
left a large crater and parts of the hotel were destroyed.





















I saw the red light from there blowing and then I heard a huge sound












Musa Khan
BBC News website reader in Peshawar





















Three men riding in a truck approached the main gate of the hotel
and opened fire at security guards before driving inside, police
official Liaqat Ali told AP, quoting witness accounts.

"They
drove the vehicle inside the hotel gates and blew it up on reaching
close to the hotel building," he added. Ali Khan, a hotel waiter, said
he had been working when the attack happened.

"I was in the
Chinese restaurant when we heard firing and then a blast," he told
Reuters news agency. "It was totally dark and people started shouting
and running."

An injured man, Jawad Chaudhry, said he had been in his room on the ground floor when he heard gunshots, then a big bang.

"The
floor under my feet shook," he said. "I thought the roof was falling on
me. I ran out. I saw everybody running in panic. There was blood and
pieces of glass everywhere."

Musa Khan, a BBC News website reader in Peshawar, said he was far away when the blast happened but could tell it was "huge".

"I
was in the university lawn with my friends," he said. "I saw the red
light from there blowing and then I heard a huge sound."

Another
Peshawar reader, Imran, said window panes 5km away had been shattered
while a third, Samee Uddin, reported gunshots and then a "huge cloud of
smoke [which] could be seen from more than 3km away".

Revenge vow

The
Pearl Continental, usually just called the PC, is a well-known landmark
in Peshawar, often used by foreigners, Pakistani officials and
businessmen.








Map









Correspondents say it runs a series of security checks, first of
vehicles as they drive in past heavy concrete barriers, then of people
who are screened by metal detectors and bag searches.

Government
forces launched an offensive earlier this year to crush a Taliban-led
uprising in the Swat valley aimed at enforcing Sharia law.

Taliban
leaders have promised to launch revenge attacks on major Pakistani
cities and claimed a bombing in Lahore last month which left at least
28 people dead.

A devastating suicide bomb attack on the
Islamabad Marriott hotel last September killed at least 53 people and
injured more than 266.

Fidayeen-e-Islam, a little-known
Pakistani militant group, told the BBC it had carried out the attack
with the aim of stopping US interference in Pakistan.


Are
you in the area? Have you been affected by this incident, or have you
seen or heard anything? Send your comments or pictures using the form
below.















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RELATED INTERNET LINKS













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FROM OTHER NEWS SITES




Boston Globe Bomb at luxury hotel in Pakistan kills at least 11 - 1 hr ago





CHINAdaily Bombers strike luxury hotel in Pakistan - 2 hrs ago





Mail Online UK Eleven killed and 70 wounded after suicide bomb explodes at Pakistan hotel - 5 hrs ago





CNEWS 5-star hotel in Pakistan attacked - 9 hrs ago





Sympatico Bomb at luxury hotel in Pakistan kills at least 5 - 10 hrs ago










































News feeds| News feeds





















 


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