ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — As Pakistan reeled from one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in its history, rescuers today continued the search for victims of a suicide truck bombing that leveled a five-star hotel frequented by foreign diplomats and the nation's elite.
At least 40 people were killed and 250 wounded when a truck full of explosives was rammed into the gates of the Marriott Hotel.
The thunderous blast in the heart of the Pakistani capital reverberated for miles, carving out a crater 30 feet deep and setting off a fire that continued to burn into the early hours of today. Dozens of people were believed trapped inside.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which came hours after Pakistan's new president, Asif Ali Zardari, delivered his first speech to lawmakers. Islamic militants have vowed to destabilize Zardari's government, which is faced with deepening economic gloom and growing public anger over Pakistan's alliance with the U.S., especially over American military operations against the Taliban and other Islamic extremists who have set up base in Pakistan.
Western anti-terrorist officials were eager to see whether responsibility for the attack would be claimed by the core leadership of Al Qaeda or by one of an array of radical fundamentalist groups operating in the lawless regions along the border with Afghanistan.
Fundamentalist groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, appear to be stepping up their coordination to attack the Pakistan government in retaliation for efforts to combat extremism in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, officials said
The size of the truck bomb, the successful strike against a well-guarded target and the apparently careful planning were all signs of a skilled and experienced militant group.
"I don't think it was the Taliban," said Sajjan Gohel of the Asia-Pacific Foundation, a London-based think tank on terrorism and security issues. "It seems more Al Qaeda, or a group affiliated with Al Qaeda, because of the scope and the ferocity of it."
If Al Qaeda was involved, it probably would claim responsibility in an emphatic way to demonstrate that it remains viable despite the loss of key leaders this year in Pakistani government offensives and U.S. air attacks. After a bombing at the Danish Embassy in Islamabad killed six people in June, Al Qaeda released a detailed video claiming responsibility for the blast and identifying the suicide attacker as a Saudi militant.
