TERRORISM: HUGE BOMBSTRIKES PAKISTAN HOTEL

NEW YORK TIMES: Militants opened fire on security guards and rushed a small truck packed with explosives through the gates of a five-star hotel . . . detonating a huge bomb in the parking lot that killed at least 11 people and wounded 55 . . . READ MORE

AL-JAZEERA: At least 11 people are reported to have been killed and 46 wounded after a gun and bomb attack on a five-star hotel in the Pakistani city of Peshawar. Armed men entered the Pearl Continental hotel . . . on Tuesday and detonated explosives. . . . READ MORE

U.S. PLANNED TO BUY HOTEL
ROBERT MACKEY/NYT: The hotel was an obvious target for militants -- even before a report surfaced two weeks ago that the United States was planning to buy the hotel as part of a plan to greatly expand its diplomatic presence in the city. . . . Saeed Shah and Warren P. Strobel of McClatchy Newspapers reported the hotel was apparently at the center of an American plan to establish a long-term presence in Peshawar . . . READ MORE

AP NEWS VIDEO:

REUTERS: Militants shot their way through a security post at the gate of the Pearl Continental Hotel in the northwestern city of Peshawar and a suspected suicide bomber set off the truck-bomb in front of the lobby. . . . "I was in the Chinese restaurant when we heard firing and then a blast. It was totally dark and people started shouting and running," hotel waiter Ali Khan . . . READ MORE

UK TIMES: It was the latest in a series of recent militant attacks on Pakistan’s main cities , , , Suspected militants opened fire at the Pearl Continental hotel shortly before a large explosion tore through it, starting a fire that swept through the building, according to witnesses and security officials. They described seeing a deep crater outside the four-storey building in the high-security Khyber Road area, and rescue workers carrying several wounded people, including at least two foreigners, to safety. One of the foreigners worked for the United Nations’ children’s agency . . . READ MORE

THE NEWS/PAKISTAN: The injured include mainly the servants of the hotel. . . . The whole area is plunged into darkness. The blast site is awash with smoke. The building caught fire soon after the blast. Several vehicles were destroyed in the blast. The sounds of gunshots are still being heard in the area. At least 40 injured were rushed to Lady Reading Hospital. A large number of security personnel arrived on the spot and cordoned off the area. Khyber Road has been blocked for traffic. . . . READ MORE

BBC: A suicide bomb attack on a luxury hotel . . . has killed at least 11 people and injured dozens more. Reports say gunmen stormed the outer security barrier at the Pearl Continental Hotel before blowing up a vehicle in the car park. . . . READ MORE

CNN: A bomb exploded at a major hotel Tuesday in the northwest Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing at least five . . . . READ MORE

AP/BREITBART: At least five people were killed and 50 others injured . . . City administration official Sahibzada Anis told reporters at the site that the casualty figure might go up as people buried under the debris were being removed . . . READ MORE

UK TELEGRAPH: The death toll from the blast and suspected gun attack at the Pearl Continental Hotel late last night was expected to more than double, rescue workers said, as fears grew that a significant number of foreigners could be among the victims. . . . READ MORE

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