More bodies pulled from Pakistan hotel

At least six more bodies were recovered today from the wreckage of the Marriott Hotel in Pakistan's capital after it was targeted by a suicide truck bomb.

Rescuers said the death toll stood at 44 after one of the biggest terrorist attacks ever in the country.

The hotel, in Islamabad, a favourite spot for foreigners and the Pakistani elite - and a previous target of militants - still smouldered from a fire that raged for hours after yesterday's explosion, which also wounded more than 250 people.

The targeting of the American hotel chain came at a time of growing anger in the Muslim nation over a wave of cross-border strikes on militant bases by US forces in Afghanistan.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, though suspicion fell on al-Qaida and the Pakistani Taliban.

Analysts said the attack served as a warning from Islamic militants to Pakistan's new civilian leadership to stop co-operating with the US in the war on terror.

Rescue teams searched the blackened building room by room today. But the temperatures remained high, and fires were still being put out in some parts. Officials said the main building could still collapse.

"The building's structure is dangerous," said Malik Ashraf Awan, a senior civil defence officer. "It consumed too much heat and shock."

Khalid Hussain Abbasi, a rescue official, confirmed that six new bodies had been found, but would not say if any belonged to foreigners. He said he expected more charred remains to be discovered.

Officials in Pakistan said at least 21 foreigners were among the wounded, including four Britons, Germans, Americans and several people from the Middle East.

TV footage showed at least two bodies partially visible from the wrecked facade today. Outside, the hotel was surrounded by torched vehicles and debris.

The bomb went off close to 8pm last night when the restaurants inside would have been packed with Muslim diners breaking their daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

The blast left a vast crater some 30ft deep in front of the main building, and investigators this morning combed the gaping hole for evidence.

The bombing came just hours after president Asif Ali Zardari made his first address to Parliament, less than a mile away from the hotel.

Witnesses and officials said the dump truck exploded about 60ft away from the hotel at two heavy metal barriers blocking the entrance. The explosion reverberated throughout Islamabad and shattered windows hundreds of yards away.

Rehman Malik, the head of the Interior Ministry, said it was unclear who was behind the attack. But authorities had received intelligence there might be militant activity linked to Zardari's address to Parliament and security had been tightened, he said.

The attack drew condemnations from around the world, including the US, which has pressured Pakistan to do more to wipe out militant hideouts on its side of the Afghan border. Washington worries that Taliban and al-Qaida fighters are using Pakistan as a training, recruiting and regrouping ground to aid the insurgency in Afghanistan.

US president George W Bush said the attack was "a reminder of the ongoing threat faced by Pakistan, the US, and all those who stand against violent extremism".

A recent series of suspected US missile strikes and a rare American ground assault in Pakistan's northwest have signalled Washington's impatience with Pakistan's efforts to clear out militants.

The cross-border operations have drawn protests from the Pakistani government, which warned they would fan militancy.

Zardari, who today was headed to New York to lead a delegation to the United Nations and was expected to meet with Bush during the week, spoke out against the crossborder strikes in his speech to Parliament. He condemned the "cowardly attack" afterward in an address to the nation.

"Make this pain your strength," he said. "This is a menace, a cancer in Pakistan which we will eliminate. We will not be scared of these cowards."

The hotel stood in a plot surrounded by government buildings less than a mile from the president's office and Parliament.

In January 2007, a security guard blocked a suicide bomber who triggered a blast just outside the Marriott, killing the guard and wounding seven other people.