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{{Short description|2009 bombing by the Tehrik-i-Taliban in Peshawar, Pakistan}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox terrorist attack
|title = Pearl Continental hotel bombing
|location = [[Peshawar]], [[Pakistan]]
|date = 9 June 2009
|type = [[bombing]], [[shooting]]
|fatalities = 17<ref name="DT">Manzoor Ali Shah. [http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\06\11\story_11-6-2009_pg1_8 "Peshawar PC blast death toll reaches 17"] ''Daily Times'', 11 June 2009</ref>
|injuries = 46
|perps = [[Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090613/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan |title=Backers mourn cleric; Taliban claim fatal attacks - Yahoo! News |access-date=18 December 2016 |archive-date=16 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616150026/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090613/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan |url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}
{{Pakistan terrorist attacks}}
The '''Pearl Continental hotel bombing''' occurred on 9 June 2009 in [[Peshawar]], [[Pakistan]], in which 17 people were killed and at least 46 people injured. The blast occurred at the [[Star (classification)|five-star]] [[Pearl Continental Hotels|Pearl Continental hotel]] in the city. The force of the explosion caused the hotel to partially collapse.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pakistan hotel shattered by blast  |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=9 June 2009 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8092147.stm |access-date=2009-06-09}}</ref> Gunman also attacked the hotel, firing several shots at survivors. The [[United States]] had planned to purchase this hotel to convert it to a consulate.<ref>[http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0610/p06s01-wosc.html Pakistan: Massive hotel bomb further erodes security], ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'', 2009-06-09</ref><ref>[http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/1089283.html Suicide bomber attacks Pakistani hotel U.S. was to buy], [[The Miami Herald]], 2009-06-09</ref>
Malik Naveed, a provincial police chief, stated that at least 11 people had died but that the death toll was likely to rise.<ref name="Pakistan hotel explosion kills 11"/> At least 46 others have been injured.<ref name="Pakistan hotel explosion kills 11"/> Other sources gave tolls of 16<ref name="The Times">[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6467987.ece Death toll rises in Peshawar luxury hotel suicide blast]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> and 18.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8092556.stm|title=Search for Pakistan blast victims|date=10 June 2009|access-date=6 November 2014}}</ref> It was further reported on 10 June that the official death toll had reached 17 as six more bodies were recovered from the debris of the damaged portion of the hotel.<ref name="DT"/>
==Bombing==
Different reports gave different accounts of the bombing. These included reports of a double-[[car bomb]], [[truck bomb]], [[suicide bomber]] and a combined gunman-suicide attack.<ref name="AFP">{{cite news|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hp9PwzsG_q6DTSfbg0Ubsptguygw|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090619133942/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hp9PwzsG_q6DTSfbg0Ubsptguygw|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 June 2009|title=Eleven dead as truck bomb rips through Pakistan luxury hotel|last=Ali|first=Lehaz|date=9 June 2009|agency=Agence France-Presse|access-date=2009-06-09}}</ref><ref name="NY">{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/06/09/2009-06-09_pakistan_luxury_hotel_in_peshawar_blown_up_by_terorrists_state_dept_had_planned_.html|title=Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan, explodes terrorist bombing|last=Kennedy|first=Helen|date=9 June 2009|work=Daily News|location=New York|access-date=2009-06-09}}</ref> The bomb ignited a large fire, which spread throughout the hotel. In addition, gunshots continued after the bombing.<ref name="NY"/> The bomb also damaged "dozens" of vehicles.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-06-09-voa40.cfm|title=Bomb Blast Kills 11 at Hotel in NW Pakistan|date=9 June 2009|publisher=Voice of America|access-date=2009-06-09|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090610060517/http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-06-09-voa40.cfm|archive-date=10 June 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
Witnesses and one security official have since stated that the perpetrators travelled to the hotel in a delivery pick-up vehicle.<ref name="Pakistan hotel explosion kills 11"/> They stormed the hotel, firing several shots before the explosion, described as "a big bomb" by a police spokesperson, which led to a fire engulfing the hotel.<ref name="At least five dead in Pakistan hotel bomb blast">{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/world-news/asia/at-least-five-dead-in-pakistan-hotel-bomb-blast-1767637.html|title=At least five dead in Pakistan hotel bomb blast|date=9 June 2009|access-date=2009-06-09|work=[[Irish Independent]]}}</ref> According to police official Shafqat Malik, "More than {{convert|500|kg|lbs|abbr=on}} of explosive material was used in the blast."<ref name="AFP"/>
Most of the foreigners caught in the blast were working with aid agencies helping internally displaced persons.<ref>[http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=22650  Bombed hotel may have to be rebuilt], [[The News International]], 2009-06-10</ref> An official of the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]] from [[Serbia]], Aleksandar Vorkapić, was among those killed;<ref>[http://www.geo.tv/6-10-2009/43832.htm  UNHCR official killed in PC explosion] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090613043201/http://geo.tv/6-10-2009/43832.htm |date=13 June 2009 }}, [[Geo TV]], 2009-06-10</ref><ref>[https://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=3911 Statement Attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on Bombing in Peshawar, Pakistan], [[United Nations]], 2009-06-09</ref> Perseveranda So, a Filipino employee of [[UNICEF]] also died.<ref name="The Times"/> Three UN employees from Germany, Somalia, and the UK were wounded.<ref name="The Times"/> It has been reported that four personnel of [[Xe (company)|Xe (Blackwater, now Academi)]] were killed in the blast.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/features/article_1492033.php/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090731150937/http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/features/article_1492033.php/|url-status=dead|title=US Blackwater-Xe mercenaries spreads fear in Pakistani town (Feature)|archive-date=31 July 2009}}</ref>
== Casualties ==
{| class="wikitable centre sortable"
|+ Deaths by nationality
!Country
!Number
|-
| {{flagu|Pakistan}}
! 15
|-
| {{flagu|Serbia}}
! 1
|-
| {{flagu|Philippines}}
! 1
|-
|- class="sortbottom"
|'''Total'''
! 17
|}
Journalists have claimed that some of the injured are from outside Pakistan.<ref name="Lethal blast hits Pakistani hotel">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8092147.stm|title=Lethal blast hits Pakistani hotel|date=9 June 2009|access-date=2009-06-09|publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> Hospital officials have also stated that there are victims from outside the country.<ref name="Pakistan hotel explosion kills 11">{{cite web|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0609/pakistan.html|title=Pakistan hotel explosion kills 11|date=9 June 2009|access-date=2009-06-09|publisher=[[Raidió Teilifís Éireann]]}}</ref> One doctor said, "We have received 46 injured people including five foreigners."<ref name="AFP"/>
==Responsibility==
A little-known Pakistani militant group, [[Fedayeen al-Islam]], told the [[BBC]] it had carried out the attack with the aim of stopping interference by the United States in Pakistan.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8092147.stm Suicide attack on Pakistani hotel], [[BBC]], 2009-06-09</ref>
However, on 11 June 2009, a previously unknown group calling itself the [[Abdullah Azzam Shaheed Brigade]] claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the attack was in response to attacks by Pakistani military forces on Taliban insurgents in the [[Swat Valley]].<ref>[http://www.upi.com/Emerging_Threats/2009/06/11/New-groups-takes-credit-for-Pakistan-blast/UPI-35741244744635/ New groups takes credit for Pakistan blast], [[United Press International]], 2009-06-11</ref>
==Aftermath==
Immediately after the blast the [[United Nations]] decided to pull its staff from [[Peshawar]], prompting fears about the fate of 2 million internally displaced people who have fled the fighting in the [[Swat, Pakistan|Swat Valley]].<ref>[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a3e691d2-55e0-11de-ab7e-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=rss UN evacuates employees from Peshawar], ''[[Financial Times]]'', 2009-06-10</ref> UNHCR and Pakistani authorities were accused of negligence after failure to transport the body of the officials who were killed in the accident which caused the cancellation of the funeral. UNHCR responded that they are doing everything in their power to solve this issue but that there were unexpected problems.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pressonline.rs/page/stories/sr.html?view=story&id=68724&sectionId=37|title=Skandalozno ponašanje UNHCR-a: Telo Srbina još u Pakistanu|work=Press Online|access-date=6 November 2014}}</ref>
==Response==
*{{PAK}} – [[Farahnaz Ispahani]], a spokesperson for [[Asif Ali Zardari]], was quoted as saying 'This is what you get (for the operation against the Taliban), but we can't give up.'<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/5489260/Foreigners-among-dead-in-Pakistan-hotel-blast.html Foreigners among dead in Pakistan hotel blast], [[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]], 2009-06-10</ref>
*{{PHI}} – The Philippines condemned the bombing, which claimed the lives of 11 people, including a Filipino woman. "This senseless terrorist attack on innocent civilians is an unspeakable crime and can never be justified! The Philippine Government affirms its commitment to working with the UN system and Member States in ensuring that this principle is observed," said Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary [[Alberto Romulo]].<ref>[http://www.gmanews.tv/story/164641/RP-condemns-terrorist-bombing-in-Pakistan-hotel Philippines condemns terrorist attack in Pakistan hotel],</ref>
*{{SRB}} – Vesna Petković, a spokesman for the UNHCR Serbia, said, "The High Commissioner for Refugees representation in Serbia is deeply distressed at the loss of our colleague Aleksandar Vorkapić, who lost his life in the senseless bombing of the hotel in Peshawar, where he was temporarily placed".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2009&mm=06&dd=10&nav_category=78&nav_id=365165|title=Građanin Srbije poginuo u Pakistanu|work=B92|access-date=6 November 2014}}</ref>
*{{GBR}} – A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We can confirm that one British man has been injured. He is in hospital. We are offering consular assistance." He added: "The UK condemns unreservedly all such acts of indiscriminate terrorism."<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6467987.ece | work=The Times | location=London | title=Death toll rises in Peshawar luxury hotel suicide blast | first1=Jeremy | last1=Page | date=10 June 2009 | access-date=2010-05-22}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
*{{Flag|United Nations}} – Secretary-General [[Ban Ki-moon]] was quoted as saying 'The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest possible terms today's terrorist attack on the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar.'<ref>[http://www.france24.com/en/20090610-ban-ki-moon-condems-terrorist-attack-luxury-peshawar-hotel-taliban-pakistan Ban Ki-moon condemns 'terrorist' attack on luxury Peshawar hotel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021021813/http://www.france24.com/en/20090610-ban-ki-moon-condems-terrorist-attack-luxury-peshawar-hotel-taliban-pakistan |date=21 October 2012 }}, [[France 24]], 2009-06-10</ref>
*{{EU}} – EU president Czech Republic condemned the attack saying "No cause can justify such acts"<ref>[http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-06/11/content_11522939.htm EU condemns terrorist attack in Pakistan] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024121023/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-06/11/content_11522939.htm |date=24 October 2012 }}, [[Xinhua News Agency]], 2009-06-11</ref>
*{{CHN}} – Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman [[Qin Gang]] said "China strongly condemns the terrorist attack and extends its deep condolences to the victims and their families."<ref>[http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-06/11/content_11527444.htm China strongly condemns terror bombing in Pakistan] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614100845/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-06/11/content_11527444.htm |date=14 June 2009 }}, [[Xinhua News Agency]], 2009-06-11</ref>
==See also==
*[[List of terrorist incidents, 2009]]
*[[List of terrorist incidents in Pakistan since 2001]]
*[[List of massacres in Pakistan]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8092411.stm In pictures: Peshawar hotel blast]
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[[Category:21st-century mass murder in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]
[[Category:Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan attacks]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2009]]
[[Category:2009 building bombings]]
[[Category:Pearl-Continental Hotels & Resorts]]
[[Category:Mass murder in 2009]]
[[Category:Car and truck bombings in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Suicide bombings in Peshawar]]
[[Category:Spree shootings in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in Peshawar]]
[[Category:Hotel bombings in Pakistan]]
[[Category:2009 mass shootings in Asia]]
[[Category:June 2009 crimes]]
[[Category:June 2009 events in Pakistan]]
[[Category:2009 murders in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Car and truck bombings in 2009]]
[[Category:Suicide bombings in 2009]]
[[Category:Mass murder in Peshawar]]
[[Category:Mass shootings in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]
[[Category:Building bombings in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]