Destruction, panic after blast
2008-06-02 11:40
Islamabad, Pakistan - A huge car bomb that exploded outside the Danish Embassy in the Pakistani capital on Monday, killed at least eight people and wounded dozens more, officials and witnesses said.
The blast echoed through Islamabad and left a crater over a metre deep in the road in front of the embassy. Shattered glass, fallen masonry and dozens of wrecked vehicles littered the area. People, some bloodied, ran back and forth in a state of panic.
An exterior wall of the embassy collapsed and its metal gate was blown inward but the embassy building itself remained intact.
It was the second bombing targeting foreigners in the Pakistani capital in less than three months. There was no immediate information on any foreign casualties.
Denmark has faced threats at its embassies following the reprinting in Danish newspapers of a caricature depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Muslims generally consider depicting the prophet to be sacrilegious. Islamic militants have warned of reprisals.
"I was with a friend passing through a nearby street then we heard a big bang," said witness Muhammad Akhtar. "Then we saw smoke and people running in a frenzy. We shifted at least eight or nine injured to hospitals. They all have got serious injuries. They were soaked in blood."
Footage from the scene showed rescue workers dragging away a bloodied person, covering his torso with an orange blanket.
'We tried to voice our concern...'
The office of a Pakistani development organisation opposite the embassy was badly damaged. Its roof had partly collapsed.
Anjum Masood, a field operations manager for the UN-funded group, Devolution Trust for Community Empowerment, said dozens of its 100 employees were wounded, mostly by flying glass. His own left hand was bandaged.
He said the group had been worried about its location across from the embassy. "We tried to voice our concern that it should be moved ... We were under a lot of threat."
A plume of smoke rose above the scene of the blast, which shook windows around the capital.
Sirens wailed as ambulances took the wounded from the scene. One group of rescuers carried away what appeared to be the upper half of a man. Pieces of metal and glass were scattered at least 200m from the blast site.
The Danish flag and the EU flag were blown off their staffs and had snagged onto the first floor balcony of the main embassy building. The windows of the embassy were blown out and the guard house outside was also badly damaged.
In April, Denmark briefly evacuated staff
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast. It follows a bombing in March at a restaurant in Islamabad that killed a Turkish aid worker and wounded at least 12 others including four FBI personnel.
The capital is regarded as one of the most secure cities in the country.
Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked militants have launched a wave of bombings in Pakistan over the past year, mostly targeting security forces.
There had been a relative lull in violence since a new civilian government took power two months ago and began peace talks with the Taliban based along the Afghan frontier.
In April, Denmark briefly evacuated staff from its embassies in Algeria and Afghanistan because of terror threats related to the Muhammad drawings.
Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller then suggested Danish embassies in other locations also could be forced to relocate their staff following a warning in March by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
- AP