Dozens killed in suicide bombing of Islamabad hotel

Excerpt from Snowmail's Tomomail service courtesy of UK Channel 4 News, Saturday 20 September 2008 18:00 GMT:

A large bomb - looks like a suicide job but it’s not clear just now – has detonated outside the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.

Looks like the hotel's going up in flames as I write. Already around 20 people confirmed killed but there will, I fear, be more by the time we are on air.

All this so soon after the new leader of the country pledges to crack down on Islamic militants (as all such leaders do) and crack down equally on America's new policy of bringing its war in Afghanistan into Pakistani sovereign territory in pursuit of its "war on terror".

What a position to be in. This hotel very much a prestige target in the country's seat of government. I've stayed there many times and I can tell from the area of blast damage that this was a very big blast indeed.