Pearl Continental hotel bombing

The Pearl Continental hotel bombing occurred on 9 June 2009 in Peshawar, Pakistan, in which 17 people were killed and at least 46 people injured. The blast occurred at the five-star Pearl Continental hotel in the city. The force of the explosion caused the hotel to partially collapse.[3] Gunman also attacked the hotel, firing several shots at survivors. The United States had planned to purchase this hotel to convert it to a consulate.[4][5]

Pearl Continental hotel bombing
LocationPeshawar, Pakistan
Date9 June 2009
Attack type
bombing, shooting
Deaths17[1]
Injured46
PerpetratorsTehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan[2]

Malik Naveed, a provincial police chief, stated that at least 11 people had died but that the death toll was likely to rise.[6] At least 46 others have been injured.[6] Other sources gave tolls of 16[7] and 18.[8] It was further reported on 10 June that the official death toll had reached 17 as six more bodies were recovered from the debris of the damaged portion of the hotel.[1]

Bombing

Different reports gave different accounts of the bombing. These included reports of a double-car bomb, truck bomb, suicide bomber and a combined gunman-suicide attack.[9][10] The bomb ignited a large fire, which spread throughout the hotel. In addition, gunshots continued after the bombing.[10] The bomb also damaged "dozens" of vehicles.[11]

Witnesses and one security official have since stated that the perpetrators travelled to the hotel in a delivery pick-up vehicle.[6] They stormed the hotel, firing several shots before the explosion, described as "a big bomb" by a police spokesperson, which led to a fire engulfing the hotel.[12] According to police official Shafqat Malik, "More than 500 kg (1,100 lb) of explosive material was used in the blast."[9]

Most of the foreigners caught in the blast were working with aid agencies helping internally displaced persons.[13] An official of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from Serbia, Aleksandar Vorkapić, was among those killed;[14][15] Perseveranda So, a Filipino employee of UNICEF also died.[7] Three UN employees from Germany, Somalia, and the UK were wounded.[7] It has been reported that four personnel of Xe (Blackwater, now Academi) were killed in the blast.[16]

Casualties
Deaths by nationality
Country Number
 Pakistan 15
 Serbia 1
 Philippines 1
Total 17

Journalists have claimed that some of the injured are from outside Pakistan.[17] Hospital officials have also stated that there are victims from outside the country.[6] One doctor said, "We have received 46 injured people including five foreigners."[9]

Responsibility

A little-known Pakistani militant group, Fedayeen al-Islam, told the BBC it had carried out the attack with the aim of stopping interference by the United States in Pakistan.[18] However, on 11 June 2009, a previously unknown group calling itself the Abdullah Azzam Shaheed Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the attack was in response to attacks by Pakistani military forces on Taliban insurgents in the Swat Valley.[19]

Aftermath

Immediately after the blast the United Nations decided to pull its staff from Peshawar, prompting fears about the fate of 2 million internally displaced people who have fled the fighting in the Swat Valley.[20] UNHCR and Pakistani authorities were accused of negligence after failure to transport the body of the officials who were killed in the accident which caused the cancellation of the funeral. UNHCR responded that they are doing everything in their power to solve this issue but that there were unexpected problems.[21]

Response
  •  Pakistan – Farahnaz Ispahani, a spokesperson for Asif Ali Zardari, was quoted as saying 'This is what you get (for the operation against the Taliban), but we can't give up.'[22]
  •  Philippines – The Philippines condemned the bombing, which claimed the lives of 11 people, including a Filipino woman. "This senseless terrorist attack on innocent civilians is an unspeakable crime and can never be justified! The Philippine Government affirms its commitment to working with the UN system and Member States in ensuring that this principle is observed," said Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo.[23]
  •  Serbia – Vesna Petković, a spokesman for the UNHCR Serbia, said, "The High Commissioner for Refugees representation in Serbia is deeply distressed at the loss of our colleague Aleksandar Vorkapić, who lost his life in the senseless bombing of the hotel in Peshawar, where he was temporarily placed".[24]
  •  United Kingdom – A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We can confirm that one British man has been injured. He is in hospital. We are offering consular assistance." He added: "The UK condemns unreservedly all such acts of indiscriminate terrorism."[25]
  •  United Nations – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was quoted as saying 'The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest possible terms today's terrorist attack on the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar.'[26]
  •  European Union – EU president Czech Republic condemned the attack saying "No cause can justify such acts"[27]
  •  China – Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said "China strongly condemns the terrorist attack and extends its deep condolences to the victims and their families."[28]

See also

References
  1. Manzoor Ali Shah. "Peshawar PC blast death toll reaches 17" Daily Times, 11 June 2009
  2. "Backers mourn cleric; Taliban claim fatal attacks - Yahoo! News". Archived from the original on 16 June 2009. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  3. "Pakistan hotel shattered by blast". BBC News. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  4. Pakistan: Massive hotel bomb further erodes security, The Christian Science Monitor, 2009-06-09
  5. Suicide bomber attacks Pakistani hotel U.S. was to buy, The Miami Herald, 2009-06-09
  6. "Pakistan hotel explosion kills 11". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  7. Death toll rises in Peshawar luxury hotel suicide blast
  8. "Search for Pakistan blast victims". 10 June 2009. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  9. Ali, Lehaz (9 June 2009). "Eleven dead as truck bomb rips through Pakistan luxury hotel". Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  10. Kennedy, Helen (9 June 2009). "Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan, explodes terrorist bombing". Daily News. New York. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  11. "Bomb Blast Kills 11 at Hotel in NW Pakistan". Voice of America. 9 June 2009. Archived from the original on 10 June 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  12. "At least five dead in Pakistan hotel bomb blast". Irish Independent. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  13. Bombed hotel may have to be rebuilt, The News International, 2009-06-10
  14. UNHCR official killed in PC explosion Archived 13 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Geo TV, 2009-06-10
  15. Statement Attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on Bombing in Peshawar, Pakistan, United Nations, 2009-06-09
  16. "US Blackwater-Xe mercenaries spreads fear in Pakistani town (Feature)". Archived from the original on 31 July 2009.
  17. "Lethal blast hits Pakistani hotel". BBC News. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  18. Suicide attack on Pakistani hotel, BBC, 2009-06-09
  19. New groups takes credit for Pakistan blast, United Press International, 2009-06-11
  20. UN evacuates employees from Peshawar, Financial Times, 2009-06-10
  21. "Skandalozno ponašanje UNHCR-a: Telo Srbina još u Pakistanu". Press Online. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  22. Foreigners among dead in Pakistan hotel blast, The Telegraph, 2009-06-10
  23. Philippines condemns terrorist attack in Pakistan hotel,
  24. "Građanin Srbije poginuo u Pakistanu". B92. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  25. Page, Jeremy (10 June 2009). "Death toll rises in Peshawar luxury hotel suicide blast". The Times. London. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  26. Ban Ki-moon condemns 'terrorist' attack on luxury Peshawar hotel Archived 21 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine, France 24, 2009-06-10
  27. EU condemns terrorist attack in Pakistan Archived 24 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Xinhua News Agency, 2009-06-11
  28. China strongly condemns terror bombing in Pakistan Archived 14 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Xinhua News Agency, 2009-06-11

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