Death toll of hotel blast in NW Pakistan rises to 15
The death toll of blast that occurred in a five-star hotel in northwestern Pakistan's Peshawar city has reached 15 as more bodies were recovered from the rubble on Wednesday morning, according to private Geo TV channel, reports Xinhua.
Militants blew up their explosives-laden vehicle after storming into the compound of a five-star hotel named Pearl Continental situated on the Khyber Road in Peshawar, capital city of North West Frontier Province on Tuesday night.
The attackers first opened fire at the security personnel guarding the main entrance of the hotel to clear their vehicle's entry into the building. They took the vehicle to the parking lot of the hotel close to a mosque and blew it up killing 13 people including three foreigners and wounding 75 others, several of them foreigners.
A portion of the hotel was destroyed while around 50 vehicles in the parking lot were damaged.
The number of casualties could rise as some of the persons were reported in a critical state, according to the Geo.
A Bomb Disposal Squad official said that at least 500 kilograms of explosives were used in the attack.
A committee has been formed to probe the incident and security has been tightened at the blast site.
