samak Posted September 21, 2008 Report Share Posted September 21, 2008 there was another Marriott bombed in Indonesia some years ago.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Marriott_Hotel_bombing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted September 21, 2008 Report Share Posted September 21, 2008 Jakarta ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Munchmaster Posted September 21, 2008 Report Share Posted September 21, 2008 And the Pakis wonder why the Aussies don't want to play cricket there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted September 21, 2008 Report Share Posted September 21, 2008 But the bombing of a Marriot Hotel is normally a retaliation action against something the USA has done... Funny. How many Marriot Hotels have ever been bombed? I see several references that this is the third attack on this particular hotel. The Marriott was attacked previously in 2004 and 2007. http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,24378833-5006301,00.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted September 21, 2008 Report Share Posted September 21, 2008 But the bombing of a Marriot Hotel is normally a retaliation action against something the USA has done... Funny. How many Marriot Hotels have ever been bombed? It was the second or third attack at this Marriot Hotel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USVirgin Posted September 21, 2008 Report Share Posted September 21, 2008 I wonder if they just hate Mormons (JWM) more than they hate Catholics; e.g., Hilton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted September 21, 2008 Report Share Posted September 21, 2008 I wonder if they just hate Mormons (JWM) more than they hate Catholics; e.g., Hilton. I am sure that you know that this is a stupid qestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mongon Posted September 21, 2008 Report Share Posted September 21, 2008 Yes it is a sad waste. It is also a warning and a challenge to Pakistan's government and military. I wonder how they will respond. Someone will say the CIA did it and the Pakis will be quite angry at America. Or they might think its fine since it is a western hotel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted September 21, 2008 Report Share Posted September 21, 2008 Islamabad Marriott: a luxury oasis in a troubled city "The Marriott Hotel was an oasis of calm for diplomats and politicians in Pakistan's capital, but its status as a symbol of Western capitalism made it a repeated target for Islamic militants. The heavily-guarded hotel, just hundreds of metres (yards) from parliament and the presidency, was left a smoking ruin after a huge suicide truck bombing at the gates of the building on Saturday killed at least 60 people. Marriott outlets have been hit by extremist violence before -- a suicide bombing at the JW Marriott in Jakarta in 2003 killing 12 people -- but the Islamabad attack was the deadliest yet on the US-based chain. A squat white building fronted by concrete arches and topped with the distinctive red Marriott sign, it is one of only two five-star hotels in the normally sedate city. Western diplomats and journalists, foreign businessmen and top Pakistani officials have long relied on its snazzy restaurants for entertainment in a town once dubbed "half the size of a New York graveyard and twice as dead." It boasts Japanese, Thai, Chinese and Lebanese outlets and a steakhouse serving the only imported beef in town -- all at prices equivalent to about a quarter of the average Pakistani's salary for one meal. The Marriott and the rival Serena hotel, about two kilometres to the south, were the only venues that many diplomats were allowed to visit following a bombing at a popular Italian restaurant in Islamabad earlier this year. Rich Pakistanis also flocked to the hotel's regular evening meals to break the daily fast for the holy month of Ramadan -- which was underway when Saturday's explosion took place. Former President Pervez Musharraf even attended a wedding in the hotel in August. These factors made the Marriott a major target for terrorists -- and on this occasion it was third time unlucky. A small blast in the lobby in October 2004 killed one person, and while the government publicly blamed an electrical circuit, security officials privately admitted it was a bomb hidden in a laptop. A suicide bomber then blew himself up just outside the hotel in January 2007, killing a security guard who stopped him from ducking into a side entrance leading towards the Marriott's basement nightclub. The Marriott made a huge effort to boost security after the latter attack. It erected massive metal and concrete vehicle barriers outside the hotel and increased checking on all cars entering the compound. The lobby was also extended to include extra body scanners and X-ray machines for bags. Some westerners privately complained that the lobby extension -- including the construction of a gigantic glass fish tank -- actually decreased the distance between the front of the hotel and the road. Footage from the inside of the hotel after the blast showed fish from the shattered tank flopping around the debris while rescuers dragged blood-spattered dead and injured people from the wreckage. Witnesses said all of the luxury restaurants suffered major damage. But chief executive Bill Marriott said in a blog on Saturday that the company put a "high premium" on security and said that most of those who died were Marriott employees. "I salute the bravery of the security personnel who were right there when the suicide bomber struck," the blog post said. "They had stopped the truck just outside the fortified gate. They were examining it when the bomb detonated. Sadly each member of the team was killed." Marriott added: "These guys were defending the lives of hotel guests and their fellow co-workers. They were killed in the line of their duty."" Source: Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted September 21, 2008 Report Share Posted September 21, 2008 More pix: http://www.travel-culture.com/pakistan/ht/Islamabad_Marriott_hotel.shtml Cheers, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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