marriott hotel completely destroyed

A massive suicide bombing outside the five-star Marriott Hotel in the Pakistani capital Islamabad has killed at least 40 people and injured more than 200.

Police say a truck packed with a tonne of explosives blew up at the entrance of the hotel in a huge explosion that killed dozens of people instantly.

The explosion left a six-metre deep crater and started a fire which engulfed the hotel. Buildings several kilometres away had windows blown out from the impact.

Emergency teams struggled to rescue scores of people on the upper floors and some are reported to have jumped to their death.

The carnage came just hours after new President Asif Ali Zardari used his first address to Parliament to promise to eliminate terrorism and extremism.

Local television showed bloodied and dazed victims near the bomb site.

At least 200 people are said to have been in the hotel's restaurants at the time and police said they feared some people may be trapped inside.

Heavy equipment was brought in to clear the debris and the rubble to make way for the fire brigade and extra water tankers to fight the fire which was still raging several hours after the blast.

BBC reporter Barbara Plett described the scene when she arrived shortly after the blast.

"I can see the flames still leaping out of the window and smoke billowing towards the sky. I'm quite close to the crater left by the explosion," she said.

"It's extraordinary. It's about 20 feet deep and about 40 or 50 feet wide."

Eyewitness Mohammad Jamil said the truck exploded just outside the hotel's gates. He said the force of the blast sent the truck sailing into the air, and knocked him over onto the street.

"For a few seconds I was in shock and did not know what had happened. Then I remembered the deafening noise," Mr Jalil said.

The blast, so powerful it was heard for miles, blew an enormous crater in the ground and destroyed the outside wall of the compound. Buildings several kilometres away had windows blown out from the impact.


'Like hell'

Another witness, Dirome Anthony, told the BBC that there was a moment of quiet after the blast before debris started falling from the sky. He said a human hand landed near his car.

"It was like hell," he said.

Officials have described the attack as the deadliest suicide attack in the capital and say they are worried that the hotel, a key meeting place for foreigners, could collapse.

The Foreign Affairs Department says at this stage there are no reports of Australians either being killed or injured in the attack.

The explosion came a few hours after Mr Zardari said he would not allow Pakistan to be used as a base for attacks against other countries.

After the attack he made a statement in which he vowed to "continue to fight terrorism and extremism".

"The Government will continue to fight terrorism and extremism in all its forms and manifestations and such dastardly acts cannot dent the Government's commitment to fight this menace," Mr Zardari said.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani joined the president in condemning the massive attack, and both leaders appealed to the public for calm.

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the Government had been warned that such an attack was imminent.

"Two days back we had a threat that the Parliament is under threat so we had taken all the security measures," he said.

"There was heavy security in the city and according to our information a truck loaded with ammunition, loading with explosive, came here and exploded."

World leaders have been quick to condemn the attacks and the United States has also reaffirmed its support for Mr Zardari's Government.

"The United States strongly condemns the terrorist attack that took place in Islamabad, Pakistan, today," national security council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in a statement.

"This is a reminder of the threat we all face. The United States will stand with Pakistan's democratically elected Government as they confront this challenge," he said, adding that US President George Bush was being briefed by National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley on the attack.

"President Bush offers his sincere condolences to the families of all those lost in today's vicious attack," the statement said.

- ABC/BBC/AFP

Dave R.