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2 U.S. Troops Killed In Hotel Bombing

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Los Angeles Times

Published: September 22, 2008

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani investigators combed through the charred wreckage of the Marriott Hotel here Sunday in search of clues to who was behind a suicide bombing that killed at least 53 people, including two members of the U.S. military.

No group had claimed responsibility late Sunday for the Saturday attack, but authorities said the investigation was focusing on militant tribes known as the Pakistani Taliban.

"All roads lead to Wazirstan," said Rehman Malik, the top official in the Interior Ministry, referring to mountainous militant strongholds in the country's northwest that have come under attack by the Pakistani army.

In Washington, the U.S. Department of Defense released a statement that two service members assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad had died from wounds suffered during the attack. Their names were withheld pending notification of their families.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Lou Fintor on Sunday said a U.S. State Department contractor remained missing.

Four Americans were among the 266 people wounded by the blast. The majority of dead and injured were Pakistanis. Also among the dead was Czech Ambassador Ivo Zdarek.
Government officials released surveillance video of the moments leading up to the blast at the five-star, American-branded hotel about 8 p.m. Saturday.

The footage shows the explosives-laden truck ramming the security gate about 60 feet from the hotel and suddenly bursting into flames.

Hotel guards, apparently unaware that the truck still contained nearly 1,300 pounds of military-grade explosives, TNT and aluminum power, gathered around, appearing uncertain of what to do. One guard attempted to douse the flames with a fire extinguisher.

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