Huge crater

Saturday's attack was the worst in the capital.

Soldiers and investigators examine the crater caused by a bomb blast outside the Marriott hotel in Islamabad September 21, 2008. [Agencies]

The blast left a crater 24 feet deep and 59 feet wide, ministry official Rehman Malik told a news conference.

Malik showed security camera footage from the front of the hotel, which had been bombed twice before, showing a truck trying unsuccessfully to force its way through security barriers.

A small blast could be seen going off in the truck cab, apparently as the bomber blew himself up with a grenade, which started a fire. Minutes later, after a guard tried to put out the fire with an extinguisher, the truck blew up.

Flames and smoke poured out of the 290-room, five-storey hotel located in a high security zone. Dozens of cars were destroyed and windows shattered hundreds of meters away.

Survivors said hotel security men had warned guests to move to the back of the building shortly before the bomb went off. Most people managed to flee from the fire before it spread.

Malik suggested the investigation would end up pointing to al Qaeda and Taliban militants based in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on the Afghan border

"In previous attacks, all roads led to FATA," he said.

The United States was ready to assist with the investigation if requested, said US embassy spokesman Lou Fintor.

Some Islamabad-based expatriates were considering leaving, after shrugging off smaller blasts in the city.

"I'll be speaking to my boss tomorrow," said Steve, a Briton working in Islamabad who did not want to give his full name.

Zardari, who won a presidential election this month, left for the United States on Sunday and is scheduled to meet US President George W. Bush in New York on Tuesday before the UN General Assembly.

(Agencies via China Daily September 22, 2008)