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Deadly Bomb Explodes at Pakistan Hotel

Some very, very sad news to report. According to CNN, a bomb exploded just outside the luxury Pearl Continental Hotel in the Pakistani city of Peshawar today, killing at least five people and wounding at least 25 more.

CNN.com reports:

Peshawar bomb disposal squad Inspector Hukam Khan confirmed soon after the explosion that a car bomb caused the destruction.

Peshawar is the capital of North West Frontier Province, which has suffered a spate of bombings on civilian targets in the wake of the Pakistani military's ongoing military offensive against Taliban militants.

Eerily, the media is reporting that Pearl Continental is actually owned by the same group as the Marriott Islamabad, where a deadly bomb went off last year.

[Photo: AFP]

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Marriott Islamabad Re-Opens Three Months After Bomb Blast

When September's suicide truck bombing at the gates of the Marriott Islamabad consumed the entire hotel with fire and killed over 50 people, renovation and re-opening were the last things on the minds of staff. But when the ashes settled and Pakistan's capital city was left without what had been a 4-star western hotel, an massive workforce of 2,000 immediately set to rebuilding in record time.

Yesterday, just over three months since the fatal blaze, the Marriott reopened with renewed facilities and increased security in preparation for welcoming guests again and rebuilding their reputation on an international level.

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Hotel Without Guests a Sad Wonderland in Pakistan

Where: Saidu Sharif, Swat, Pakistan

For most of us, having the entire staff of a five-star resort at our fingertips is a dream, only attainable with a huge dose of influence and cold, hard cash. But for a BBC reporter who recently ventured to the war-torn Swat Valley of Pakistan, the dream came true in the form of the Swat Serena Hotel, a top-notch resort sustaining itself on hope and hospitality as they weather nightly fighting between Pakistani forces and the Taliban. Having not had a single guest in six weeks, the Swat Serena welcomed the single reporter into their nearly long-lost oasis of calm.

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Tags: Hotel News / Bill Marriott / Pakistan Hotels / Marriott Hotels / → All Tags

Breaking News :: Deadly Bomb Goes Off at Marriott Hotel in Pakistan

Where: Aga Khan Road, Shalimar 5-PO Box1251, Islamabad, Pakistan

Some very, very sad news to report. A truck bomb exploded at the Marriott Islamabad Hotel in Pakistan today, killing at least 40 people and wounding hundreds more. The NY Times reports:

The bomb left a vast crater, 40 feet wide and 25 feet deep, at the security barrier to the hotel. Witnesses said security guards were buried under a mound of rubble. Cars across the street from the hotel were mangled, and trees on the street were charred and stripped of their branches. The blast shattered windows in buildings hundreds of yards away.

It turns out that Marriott's hotel security was checking the truck for explosives when it detonated. The number of casualties and the number of injured is expected to increase because many people were still trapped in the six-story hotel. This was also thought to be one of the worst acts of terrorism in Pakistan history.

Keep reading for Bill Marriott's blog post about the tragedy.

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