A suicide bomber targeted the Marriot Hotel in Islamabad on the evening of Saturday 20th September. The bomber drove a truck loaded with explosives through the first gates of the hotel complex, when stopped by security guards before he could get through the second barrier he blew himself up causing two expolsions the second of which left a crater some twenty feet sdeep and fifty feet wide, killed more than fifty people and injured over two hundred. The timing was particularly poignant as people were sitting down to eat their evening meal after fasting for the day as it is the month of Ramaden. Although no group has yet claimed responsibilty for the bombing it is suspected that alQeada were involved. It is also suspected that the original target was the Pakistan Parliament building and it was only when the bomber could not gain accesss to the Parliament that he decided to target the Marroit, a hotel popular both with Parkistanis and foreigners. British Airways has suspended its flights to Islamabad for the time being amid Foreign Office warnings against travel to Pakistan at present.
