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 truck bombing that killed at least 53 people, including two members of the U.S. military.
No group had claimed responsibility yet for Saturday's attack, but authorities said their investigation was focusing on militant tribal groups known as the Pakistani Taliban.
"All roads lead to Waziristan," 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 Department of Defense said that two service members assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, the capital, had died of injuries received in the attack on the hotel. Their names were withheld pending notification of their families.
U.S. Embassy spokesman Lou Fintor said a State Department contractor remained missing after the blast.
The dead also included Czech Ambassador Ivo Zdarek.
The high-profile attack was the latest reminder of a rise in militancy in Pakistan, despite billions of dollars in U.S. support to the country since 2001. Pakistan witnessed nearly 60 suicide bombings in the last year, including one that killed former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in December.
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 dramatic video shows an explosives-laden truck ramming the security gate about 60 feet from the hotel and bursting into flames. Hotel guards, apparently unaware that the truck still contained an estimated 1,300 pounds of military-grade explosives, TNT and aluminum powder, gathered around, appearing uncertain of what to do. One guard attempted to douse the flames with a fire extinguisher.
The video ends before the second, much-larger explosion devastated the landmark hotel, which is frequented by diplomats and visitors as well as Pakistani elite. The blast triggered a fire that raced through the hotel, which was still smoldering Sunday evening.
Four Americans were among the 266 people injured in the blast. The majority of the casualties were Pakistanis.
The U.S. government has offered to assist Pakistani authorities in the investigation.
