American diplomat killed in Pakistan

An American diplomat is killed by pro-Al Qaeda miltants. The bombing occurs before Bush's visit and follows the air raids undertaken by the US that killed innocent villagers despite the claim they were hitting miltants.

But we all know the world is a safer place thanks to the monkeys pushing the buttons.....


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Explosion at US consulate in Karachi kills diplomat

Declan Walsh in Islamabad
Friday March 3, 2006
The Guardian

A suicide bomb killed an American diplomat and three other people in the port city of Karachi yesterday on the eve of President George Bush's first visit to Pakistan.

The blast tore through the rear car park of the Marriott hotel, 20 metres from the US consulate, wounding 52 people, propelling vehicles into the air and showering the streets with debris.

The American diplomat, his driver and a Pakistani soldier who apparently tried to prevent the bomber reaching the consulate were killed immediately. An unidentified woman also perished.

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Mr Bush vowed to press ahead with his trip, the final leg of his south Asian tour, saying he would not be deterred by "terrorists and killers".

"We have lost at least one US citizen in the bombing, a foreign service officer, and I send our country's deepest condolences to that person's loved ones and family," he said while in neighbouring India, adding: "Terrorists and killers are not going to prevent me from going to Pakistan."

Security experts said the bombing was one of the largest ever in Karachi, a hotbed of Islamic militancy that has seen several suicide attacks since 2001.

Security cameras showed a man jumping into a car and ramming into the vehicle of the American diplomat, named by Pakistani officials as David Foy.

The blast shattered windows on all 10 hotel floors and flung wreckage as far as 200 metres.

The remains of one victim landed on the second floor. A young Moroccan girl was among the wounded.

Street vendor Muhammad Ali said the explosion was followed by a second blast, which police believe was caused by a car fuel tank. "I thought the explosions would burst my ear drums," he told the AP.

One American official said Foy was in charge of maintenance at the consulate, which has been heavily guarded since a 2002 car bomb attack that killed 15 Pakistanis.

A statement from Pakistan's foreign ministry expressed sadness over the diplomat's death and said the bombing was a "senseless act" that "fortifies our resolve to fight terrorism".

President Bush is due in Islamabad, 1,000 miles to the north, for talks with president Pervez Musharraf tomorrow, although officials say he may land this evening. The visit is intended as a show of solidarity with a key ally in the war on al-Qaida and Islamic militancy.

But it is deeply unpopular among Pakistanis who oppose American policy in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Anti-American sentiment was inflamed in January by the bombing of a tribal village that missed its target, al-Qaida number two Ayman al-Zawahiri, but killed 13 villagers.

Ali Dayan Hasan of Human Rights Watch said the bomb was "designed to send a message to President Bush about the political isolation of General Musharraf and the fragility of US interests in Pakistan".