WORLD> Asia-Pacific
|
WORLD> Asia-Pacific
|
|
Bomb targets Danish Embassy, 6 killed
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-03 07:04 ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- A car bomb exploded outside the Danish Embassy in Islamabad on Monday, killing six people and wounding dozens weeks after al-Qaida issued threats against Denmark over the reprinting of a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad. The blast is likely to lead to Western pressure on Pakistan's new government to roll back its policy of trying to strike deals with militant groups instead of using military force. The bombing was the worst anti-Danish attack since the Muhammad cartoons first appeared nearly three years ago. At least five and possibly all six of the dead were Pakistanis.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, though suspicion quickly fell on al-Qaida. As recently as April, the terror network's No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, called for attacks on Danish targets in response to the drawings. The attacker apparently used a fake diplomatic license plate to get the car near the embassy, according to authorities, who were investigating whether it was a suicide attack. Interior Secretary Kamal Shah said evidence indicated the car was a Toyota Corolla carrying 55 pounds of explosives. The blast left a huge crater in the road outside the embassy, destroyed nearby vehicles and badly damaged the office of a UN-funded development group. A perimeter wall of the embassy collapsed and its metal gate was blown inward, but the embassy building itself remained standing, though its windows were shattered. Several diplomatic buildings and homes also were damaged. "Pieces of windows, doors and glass hit me, but thank God I didn't get any injuries," said Rizwan Sheikh, a planning specialist for the UN-funded Devolution Trust for Community Empowerment. "Outside the building it was a doomsday scene. Everybody was running helter-skelter. I saw people crying. I saw blood. I saw human body parts." The six dead included two Pakistani policemen, as well as a cleaner and a handyman employed by the embassy. At least 35 people were wounded, officials said. Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller said one of the dead may have held a Danish passport, but he did not elaborate. A Brazilian woman who worked at the Danish embassy was among the wounded. Her injuries were not serious, Brazil's foreign ministry said. It was the second targeting of foreigners in the Pakistani capital in less than three months. The Norwegian and Swedish governments immediately closed their embassies in the wake of the blast, which damaged the homes of the Dutch ambassador, the Australian defense attache and the Indian ambassador. No one was injured. The US Embassy urged Americans to use extra caution when traveling through Islamabad and to avoid the blast site. Officials from UN agencies were to meet Tuesday about possibly sending people home. |
