Breaking news...

[Peikko 1,575]

Deadly Bomb Attack Reported at Luxury Hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan

No details as yet - Twitter.

Edited June 9, 2009 by Madame Cleo

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Bomb attack in Peshawar? That's as unsurprising as typhoon hits Hong Kong.

[Peikko 1,575]

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Some people care...but it is not totally unprecedented of course.

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Peshawar's in NWFP. With everything happening in that part of Pakistan right now, any western tourist chilling out in a lux hotel in Peshawar is out of his fvcking mind.

[mawilson 2,133]

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Some people care...but it is not totally unprecedented of course.

Any Westerners hurt in the blast? If not, I don't care.

[Peikko 1,575]

Ah well, there you go. No idea the nationality of the victims. They were probably just hotel workers, so not important.

[mawilson 2,133]

Ah well, there you go. No idea the nationality of the victims. They were probably just hotel workers, so not important.

Thank God!

[Peikko 1,575]

Of course, god has no interest in Pakistani hotel slaves, just in the righteous Americans

[mawilson 2,133]

Of course, god has no interest in Pakistani hotel slaves, just in the righteous Americans

Different God, Cleo. Our God kicks their God's аss.

[Peikko 1,575]

Exactly, there you go, we worship the big god. Mind you, if I don't worship the big god, do I get an even bigger kick in the pants?

[mawilson 2,133]

Exactly, there you go, we worship the big god. Mind you, if I don't worship the big god, do I get an even bigger kick in the pants?

God loves all Americans, so you just have to survive until your naturalization ceremony.

[Peikko 1,575]

[Peikko 1,575]

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Updated

Five killed and at least 65 injured in explosion at luxury hotel in Peshawar

At least five people were killed tonight and 65 wounded by a bomb blast at a luxury hotel in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, police said.

Gunmen stormed into the Pearl Continental hotel in the north-western city just before "a big bomb went off", police official Liaqat Ali said. He said it was a suicide attack.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but it comes after Taliban threats to stage a campaign of assaults in retaliation for a military campaign against militants in the Swat valley region.

Local television networks showed a scene of pandemonium outside the hotel, with armed police rushing around. One man held a bloodied rag to his head.

The footage, taken at night, indicated that a large part of the building had collapsed in the force of the explosion. Ambulances were seen carting the wounded to hospital.

An Associated Press reporter at the scene said he saw several foreigners being walked out of the hotel with injuries.

The attack echoed events last November in Mumbai, when militants attacked the city's luxury Taj Mahal hotel, among a series of targets, with more than 170 people dying in all.

Sahibzada Anis, a senior government official in Peshawar, says at least five people were killed and 25 wounded. Other agencies suggested the at least seven had died and 34 wounded.

The Pearl, affectionately called the PC by Pakistanis, is the largest and most prominent hotel in the city and part of a chain offering luxury accommodation. It is relatively well guarded and set far back from the main road, overlooking a golf course and a historic fort.

Parking in front of the structure is heavily restricted, and to get to the front doors of the building, a car has to undergo security checks and travel around concrete and metal barriers.

The hotel is a favourite place for foreigners and elite Pakistanis to stay and socialise, making it a high-profile target for militants.

Peshawar is capital of Pakistan's troubled North West Frontier province.

Last month, suspected Taliban militants perched on rooftops opened fire on police officers responding to two explosions in Kissa Khwani, a historic market in Peshawar. Two militants were killed and two arrested during the battle.

Two years ago a suicide bomber attacked the restaurant of the Marhaba hotel restaurant in Peshawar's old city, killing at least 24 people.

Last week it was reported that the US government was negotiating the purchase of the hotel in order to turn it into a new US consulate.

Suspected Taliban have also targeted other cities over recent months, including a bomb attack at Islamabad's Marriott hotel which killed more than 50 people.

Edited June 9, 2009 by Madame Cleo