ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistani investigators combed through the charred wreckage of the Marriott Hotel here Sunday in search of clues to who was behind a suicide bombing that killed at least 53 people, including two members of the U.S. military.
No group had claimed responsibility late Sunday for the attack the day before, but authorities said the investigation was focusing on militant tribes known as the Pakistani Taliban.
“All roads lead to Waziristan,” said Rehman Malik, the top official in the Interior Ministry, referring to mountainous militant strongholds in the country’s northwest that have come under attack by the Pakistani army.
In Washington, the U.S. Department of Defense released a statement saying two service members assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad had died from wounds received during the attack on the Marriott. Their names were withheld pending notification of their families, and no other information was provided.
U.S. Embassy spokesman Lou Fintor on Sunday said a U.S. State Department contractor remained missing after the blast.
Government officials released surveillance video of the moments before the blast at the five-star, American-branded hotel about 8 p.m. Saturday.
The dramatic footage shows the explosives-laden truck ramming the security gate about 60 feet from the hotel and bursting into flames. Hotel guards, apparently unaware that the truck contained nearly 1,300 pounds of military-grade explosives, TNT and aluminum, gathered around, appearing uncertain of what to do.
One guard attempted to douse the flames with a fire extinguisher.
The video ends before the second, much-larger explosion devastated the landmark hotel, which is frequented by foreign diplomats and visitors as well as Pakistani VIPs. The blast triggered a fire that raced through the hotel, which was still smoldering Sunday evening.
Four Americans were among the 266 people wounded by the blast. The majority of dead and injured were Pakistanis. Also among the dead was Czech Ambassador Ivo Zdarek.
