In a latest security alert issued by Washington’s embassy in Islamabad on Sunday, US government staff have been prohibited from visiting a top hotel in the Pakistan capital due to fears of a terror attack.
Pakistani Taliban militants have been waging a campaign of bombings and suicide attacks for over a decade in a bid to run the country under a harsh brand of Islamic law. Since last month, they have ramped up attacks after calling off a ceasefire brokered by the Afghan Taliban in May.
“The U.S. government is aware of information that unknown individuals are possibly plotting to attack Americans at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad sometime during the holidays,” the embassy said in a statement.
“Effective immediately, the Embassy in Islamabad is prohibiting all American staff from visiting Islamabad’s Marriott Hotel.”
The embassy urged all mission personnel to refrain from non-essential, unofficial travel in Islamabad throughout the holiday season. It said staff should exercise vigilance at events and places of worship, and avoid locations with large crowds.
“Review your personal security plans,” the embassy said, recommending actions for staff. “Carry identification and follow requests from law enforcement. Be aware of your surroundings. Monitor local media for updates.”
In 2008, at the peak of the TTP insurgency, a truck laden with 600kg of explosives blew up outside Islamabad’s Marriott Hotel, killing at least 53 people and wounding more than 260.
In 2009, a suicide bomb attack on Peshawar’s top hotel killed at least seven people, including two UN workers, a Russian man and Philippine woman, at the Pearl Continental, a hotel popular with VIPs and foreigners in the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
