ISLAMABAD, June 2 (Xinhua) -- A blast occurred in
front of the Danish embassy here on Monday, killing at least eight people and
injuring 24 others, local TV channel DAWN NEWS reported.
A bomb exploded at the main gate of the embassy and
totally destroyed the post of the private guards outside the embassy.
Police investigators work at the site of
explosion in front of the Danish Embassy in Pakistani capital Islamabad,
June 2, 2008. A blast occurred in front of the Danish Embassy on Monday,
killing at least eight people and injuring 24 others.(Xinhua Photo/Li
Zhongfa) Photo
Gallery>>>
Police
said the explosion created a four feet deep crater at the site and around 30
vehicles at the parking lot of the embassy were also destroyed.
The TV footage showed that some buildings inside the
embassy were also damaged in the blast.
Police and ambulances have reached the site of the
blast. The area of the blast has been cordoned off and the injured have been
transferred to hospitals for treatment.
Preliminary investigation showed that a car was used
in the blast to target the embassy, police said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the blast.
The security has been tightened in Islamabad after
the blast.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani condemned
the blast.
The embassy of Denmark was downgraded over a year ago
following threats due to blasphemous films and cartoons. The ambassador and
diplomats have been withdrawn and only one consular and mostly Pakistani staff
stayed in the embassy for many months, according to DAWN NEWS.
Pakistan's parliament in April passed a resolution
denouncing the blasphemous film made by a Dutch politician and the reprinting of
a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed in Danish newspapers.
The destroyed vehicles are seen near the
Danish Embassy in Pakistani capital Islamabad in this photo taken on June
2, 2008. A blast occurred in front of the Danish Embassy on Monday,
killing at least eight people and injuring 24 others. (Xinhua Photo/Li
Zhongfa) Photo
Gallery>>>
ISLAMABAD, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Monday reiterated his firm resolve to fight terrorism as an U.S. delegation is visiting Islamabad.
Pakistan is firm in its resolve to fight terrorism
and extremism in accordance with its values and national interest, the official
Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) quoted Musharraf as saying while he held
meeting with U.S. Under Secretary for Defense Eric S. Edelman who is heading a
six-member delegation. Full story
STOCKHOLM, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Denmark's Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller condemned Monday the attack on the Danish embassy in Pakistan, according to reports reaching here from Copenhagen.
The bombing, which has claimed at least eight lives, is a "terrorist attack" and "one can of course only condemn it," Moeller told local media. Full story
ISLAMABAD, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Foreign
Secretary Salman Bashir said on Monday that the blast outside Danish embassy in
Islamabad has damaged the country's image.
The suicide car bombing at about 1:00 p.m. local time
killed at least eight people, including two Pakistani policemen at the embassy,
and wounded nearly 30 others. Full story
