Monday, June 2, 2008

Car bomb attack at Danish embassy in Pakistan kills 8

Evil thugs exploded a car bomb at the Danish embassy in Islamabad Monday, killing 8. Authorities suspect this was a revenge attack for the publication of the Danish cartoons. AFP:

A suicide bomber blew up a car outside the Danish embassy in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Monday, killing eight people and wounding nearly 30 others, state media and officials said.

There was no claim of responsibility for the massive blast but officials said it was likely linked to the furore over cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed which were printed by Danish newspapers.

The bomb badly damaged the mission and a nearby UN agency, and left a huge crater in the road. Dozens of cars were wrecked by the force of the explosion, an AFP reporter said.

"It was a suicide attack carried out in a vehicle, apparently targeting the Denmark embassy," a senior security official told AFP.

Pakistani interior secretary Kamal Shah told reporters that a possible link to the row over the cartoons, which were first printed in 2005 and again by Danish papers in February, "will be part of the investigation."

Government-run television and the state news agency said eight people died. Shah said at least six were killed, including two policemen stationed at the embassy, and 27 wounded.

Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller said the "totally unacceptable" attack was an attempt to ruin Pakistan's ties with the West. He warned Danes against all travel to Pakistan.

He said a Pakistani cleaner employed at the embassy died and three other local employees were hurt, but the embassy's four Danish staffers, including the charge d'affaires, were unharmed.

"I of course condemn this attack. It is terrible that terrorists commit such acts," Moeller told Danish television. "The aim is simply to ruin Pakistanis' relations with countries like Denmark."

Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri have both called for attacks on Danish targets because of the cartoons.

(AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
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