page_title: Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing
section_title: Attack
hierarchical_section_title: Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing / Attack
caption_attribution_description: English: A map of the area around the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad
context_page_description: The Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing occurred on the night of 20 September 2008, when a dump truck filled with explosives was detonated in front of the Marriott Hotel in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, killing at least 54 people, injuring at least 266 and leaving a 60 ft wide, 20 ft deep crater outside the hotel. The majority of the casualties were Pakistanis; at least five foreign nationals were also killed and fifteen others reported injured. The attack occurred only hours after President Asif Ali Zardari made his first speech to the Pakistani parliament.
  The Marriott was the most prestigious hotel in the capital, and was located near government buildings, diplomatic missions, embassies and high commissions.
  During the investigation, three suspected terrorists were arrested by the Pakistani police. They were suspected of having facilitated the suicide bomber. However later they were acquitted of all charges as no evidence was ever presented against them.
  A few months after the hotel's bombing the Government of Pakistan had re-constructed it, and the Islamabad Marriott reopened officially on 28 December 2008.
context_section_description: The hotel blast caused a severe natural gas leak that set the top floor of the five-story, 258-room hotel on fire, police said. The explosion was heard 15 kilometres away. The blaze that followed quickly engulfed the entire structure of the Marriott hotel. About two-thirds of the building caught fire as a result of the explosion after a natural gas pipe was blown open, and the reception area was completely destroyed.
  The owner of the Marriott Hotel, Hashoo Group, owned by Sadruddin Hashwani, said the truck carrying the bomb had been stopped at the front barrier. "Some shots were fired. One of our guards fired back, and in the meantime the suicide bomber detonated all the explosives. All the guards on the gate died", said Hashwani.
caption: Map of the location of the hotel and its surroundings with the hotel highlighted in purple
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