Rescuers pulled more bodies from the shell of the truck-bombed Marriott Hotel in Pakistan's capital Sunday, pushing the death toll from one of the country's worst terrorist strikes to 53, including the Czech ambassador and two Americans.
The five-story hotel, a favorite spot for foreigners and the Pakistani elite — and a previous target of militants — still smoldered from a fire that raged for hours after the previous day's explosion, which also wounded more than 250 people. No group immediately claimed responsibility, though suspicion fell on al-Qaida and the Pakistani Taliban.
IntelCenter, a U.S. group that monitors and analyzes militant messages, noted that al-Qaida's 9/11 anniversary video threatened attacks against Western interests in Pakistan, where many are angered by a wave of cross-border strikes on militant bases by U.S. forces in Afghanistan.