pakistan hotel

The Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing occurred on 20 September 2008, when a dump truck filled with explosives detonated in front of the Marriott Hotel in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, killing at least 54, injuring at least 266 and leaving a 60 ft (20 m) wide, 20 ft (6 m) deep crater outside the hotel.^[4] The majority of the casualties were Pakistanis; although at least five foreigners were killed and fifteen others reported injured. The attack occurred mere hours after President Asif Ali Zardari made his first speech to parliament.^[5] The Marriott was the most prestigious hotel in the capital, located near government buildings and diplomatic missions. It was popular with foreigners and the Pakistani elite. The hotel had previously been the target of militants. In 2007, a suicide bomber killed himself and another person in an attack at the hotel.^[6]

The Islamabad Marriott reopened on December 28.^[7]

The blast caused a natural gas leak that set the top floor of the five-story, 258-room hotel on fire, police said. The massive explosion was heard 15 kilometres away.^[8] The blaze that followed quickly engulfed the entire structure of the hotel.^[9] About two-thirds of the building caught fire as a result of the explosion after a natural gas pipe was blown open, and the reception area was completely destroyed.^{[6][10][11][9][12]}

The owner of the hotel, Hashoo Group,^[13] owned by Sadruddin Hashwani, who is an Ismaili Shia,^[14][15] said the truck carrying the bomb had been stopped at the front barrier. "Some shots were fired. One of our guards fired back, and in the meantime he detonated all the explosives. All the guards on the gate died," said hotel owner Sadruddin Hashwani.^[16]

After the attack, vans were temporarily banned from entering the capital territory.^{[citation needed]}

Most of the dead were Pakistani, but foreigners also died. Two American military personnel^[17] and a Danish intelligence agent^[18] were killed, and a U.S. State Department employee was missing and presumed dead.^[19] The Czech ambassador to Pakistan, Dr. Ivo Žďárek, also died in the ensuing fire along with his Vietnamese companion. Although Žďárek had survived the initial blast, he returned to the hotel to help in the rescue effort but was trapped in the burning building.^[20][21] In addition, six Germans, four Britons and a Filipina receptionist from the hotel^[22] were among the injured.^[23]

Pakistani leadership was scheduled to meet at the hotel

Pakistan's top leaders were to have been in the Islamabad Marriott hotel when it was bombed; instead, having changed their plans at the last minute, they gathered for dinner at the Prime Minister's house, a few hundred yards from the explosion, following President Asif Ali Zardari maiden address to a joint session of parliament.^[24] "The national assembly speaker had arranged a dinner for the entire leadership - for the president, prime minister and armed services chiefs - at the Marriott that day," the Interior ministry head, Rehman Malik, told reporters.^[25]

However, the hotel owner, Sadruddin Hashwani, denied that such a meeting had ever been scheduled to take place.^[26] According to a spokesman for Hashwani, "We didn't have any reservation for such a dinner that the government official is talking about."^[27]

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said both Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani condemned the attack and vowed their determination to deal with terrorism,^[28] with Law Minister Farooq Naek stating "this is Pakistan's 9/11".^[29]

Explosives used

Government advisor Rehman Malik said RDX and TNT were used in the attack.^[30] Approximately 600 kg of RDX was mixed with TNT (Torpex or H6) and a mixture of mortar and ammunition to increase the explosive capacity. Aluminum powder was also mixed with the material to further enhance this capability. Torpex is about fifty percent more powerful than TNT by weight.^[31] The blast was heard for many miles throughout the capital.

"Delay switches" might also have been used.^[32] Guards were first alerted by a minor blast, which was followed by the much larger explosion about four minutes later.^[26]