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Suicide blast kills 6 at Danish mission in Pakistan

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-02 19:50

ISLAMABAD - A suspected suicide bomber blew up a car outside the Danish embassy in the Pakistani capital on Monday killing six people and wounding about 20, police and hospital officials said.

Policemen carry a bomb blast victim outside the Danish embassy in Islamabad June 2, 2008. A bomb went off outside the Danish embassy in the Pakistani capital on Monday killing six people and wounding about 20. [Agencies]

The blast will raise fresh questions about the safety of foreigners in Pakistan even though militant attacks have dropped off since a new government came to power after a February general election vowing to negotiate to end violence.

Danish newspapers infuriated Muslims around the world when they published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in late 2005. The cartoons, considered blasphemous by Muslims, sparked deadly protests in 2006 which included attacks on Danish missions.

The embassy in Islamabad was temporarily shut in 2006 after violent protests over the cartoons.

Residents of the neighbourhood said they had feared an attack on the mission.

"Since the printing of cartoons, we always had this fear," said Sana Khalid, a resident of the area. "But what they did to our religion, they deserve it."

The blast destroyed the embassy gate and damaged the front of the building and vehicles in the compound in the upmarket district of Islamabad where other missions and diplomats' houses are located.

Police and security officials said all of the dead and wounded were Pakistanis and the bomb was suspected to have been set off by a suicide bomber in a car.

The blast left a crater about three feet (one metre) deep on the road outside the mission. A car engine was left about 30 feet (10 metres) from the crater.

Television pictures showed considerable damage to nearby buildings and vehicles. One of the dead appeared to be a Pakistani guard. Two of the dead were policemen, police said.

"It's dangerous"

Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller condemned the attack.

"It's terrible that terrorists commit such acts," he said in an interview on Danish television station TV2 News. Moller said he did not know if any Danes were hurt.

"We already were working under a higher security level in Pakistan ... It's dangerous. There are fanatics and terrorists out there," he said.

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