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Pakistan leaders' 'narrow escape' | Pakistan leaders' 'narrow escape' |
(20 minutes later) | |
Pakistan's top leaders were to have been in the Islamabad Marriott hotel when it was bombed - but changed venue at the last minute, officials say. | Pakistan's top leaders were to have been in the Islamabad Marriott hotel when it was bombed - but changed venue at the last minute, officials say. |
Interior ministry head Rehman Malik said the president, prime minister and military chiefs should have been there. | |
He told journalists it would have been "a great catastrophe", but did not say why the dinner plans were changed. | |
A suicide bomb devastated the Marriot on Saturday, killing at least 53 people and wounding more than 266. | |
'Entire leadership' | 'Entire leadership' |
"The national assembly speaker had arranged a dinner for the entire leadership - for the president, prime minister and armed services chiefs - at the Marriott that day," Mr Malik told reporters. | |
"The president and the prime minister changed the venue to the prime minister's house. The function was not held at the Marriott, thus the whole leadership was saved." | "The president and the prime minister changed the venue to the prime minister's house. The function was not held at the Marriott, thus the whole leadership was saved." |
The bomb - believed to have been detonated in a lorry - left a six metre (20ft) crater. | |
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Aerial footage of the damage caused by the bomb | |
Rescuers have been combing the wreckage for survivors and bodies. | Rescuers have been combing the wreckage for survivors and bodies. |
Most of the dead were Pakistanis. One Vietnamese, a German and an American are also known to have died. | Most of the dead were Pakistanis. One Vietnamese, a German and an American are also known to have died. |
No-one has yet admitted carrying out the attack, but the Pakistani Taleban are thought to be the most likely suspects. | |
Earlier on Monday, Pakistan's government said it would take targeted action against the militants, promising raids in some "hotspots" near the border with Afghanistan. | |
Meanwhile, reports from Peshawar, capital of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, say the Afghan consul in the city has been kidnapped. | |
The consul, Abdul Khaliq Farahi, was in a car in a Peshawar suburb when it was attacked by six unidentified men, officials say. His driver died in the attack. | The consul, Abdul Khaliq Farahi, was in a car in a Peshawar suburb when it was attacked by six unidentified men, officials say. His driver died in the attack. |