- Title: PAKISTAN: Security is tight in Islamabad after a bomb kills one and injures five
- Date: 16th March 2008
- Summary: (ASIA) ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (MARCH 16, 2008) (REUTERS) SITE OF BLAST SECURITY OUTSIDE LUNA CAPRESE, RESTAURANT WHERE THE ATTACK TOOK PLACE/ ROAD CORDONED OFF SIGNBOARD OF LUNA CAPRESE SECURITY CORDON OUTSIDE LUNA CAPRESE POLICEMEN PATROLLING OUTSIDE LUNA CAPRESE TWO POLICEMEN GUARDING GATE OF LUNA CAPRESE TWO WOMEN CLEANERS WALKING THROUGH MARKET
- Embargoed: 31st March 2008 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Pakistan
- Country: Pakistan
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
- Reuters ID: LVA9EXAZZ4GWIY4SOM41KYQ7GHG8
- Story Text: Security is tight in Islamabad, the morning after a bomb killed a Turkish women and wounded 11 people in a restaurant, including 5 Americans.
Dozens of policemen on Sunday (March 16) stood guard around the restaurant in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad where a bomb attack killed a Turkish woman and wounded several foreigners the previous night.
Police say five Americans were among 11 people wounded in a bomb attack.
The other wounded included a Briton, a Canadian and a Japanese national, and three Pakistanis, according to a list posted at the hospital where the casualties were taken.
The explosion occurred in a garden dining area at the rear of the Luna Caprese restaurant, a well known haunt for expatriates, including diplomats, aid agency workers, and journalists.
The bomb blast had left a crater, and police ruled out any possibility that it had been a suicide attack.
Pakistan has been battling al Qaeda inspired Islamist militants since joining the U.S. led campaign against terrorism after the September 11 attacks on the United States.
More than 500 people have been killed this year in militant-related violence, including a wave of suicide bombings.
Early last year a suicide bomber killed a security guard outside Islamabad's Marriott hotel, but attacks on soft targets like restaurants frequented by foreigners would mark a change in the militants' tactics.
"It is wrong to associate terrorist attacks with al-Qaeda or Taliban. Certain elements are trying to break up our country. They want to finish our country by making us fight among ourselves. We condemn all this in the strongest of words," said a local resident Mohammad Riasat.
Bombers have targeted U.S. diplomats several times in the past. David Foy, a diplomat at the U.S. consulate in Karachi was killed by a suicide car bomber in March 2006.
Pakistan has experienced months of political turmoil over opposition to President Pervez Musharraf.
The National Assembly will convene on Monday for the first time since the election, and Musharraf is expected to invite the victors to form a coalition government, though it might end up forcing him from power. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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