Islamabad Marriott Hotel destroyed, BA stops flights

The Marriott Hotel in Islamabad has been destroyed in a suspected suicide attack, which killed at least 53 people.

A further 266 victims were hurt in the attack, which was believed to be aimed at a meeting of the country's leading politicians.

Interior Ministry head Rehman Malik said the president, prime minister and military chiefs should have been there – but the venue for the meeting was changed at the last minute.

The heavily-guarded hotel was attacked at about 20:00 (15:00 GMT) on Saturday, when a lorry blew up at the hotel entrance after it was stopped for a security check.

In response to the tragedy British Airways has suspended its flights to Pakistan, citing a security fears as the main cause, an airline spokesman said today.

To date there has been no claim of responsibility for the attack, but the interior ministry has suggested the attackers were linked to Islamist militants in the north-west border region near Afghanistan.

Commenting on the latest atrocity to hit the nation the foreign secretary, David Miliband, said: "This latest bombing attack in Islamabad is yet another shocking and disgraceful attack without justification.

"Such an indiscriminate and brutal act of terror deserves the condemnation of the entire international community.

"We continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with government of Pakistan against the violent extremists who have no answers but only offer death and mayhem.

"This horrific attack reinforces our shared determination to tackle violent extremism," he added.

Chris O'Toole