JEDDAH (Saudi Arabia) - THE Saudi-based Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) on Sunday slammed the deadly bombing of a Pakistan hotel as an attack by the enemies of peace and contrary to Islam.
The 57-member body, which represents more than a billion Muslims worldwide, denounced Saturday's suicide truck blast at Islamabad's Marriott Hotel that killed at least 60 people and wounded 200 more.
The bombing appeared to have been timed to inflict maximum casualties, ripping through the hotel when it was packed with families breaking the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu condemned the attack 'in the strongest terms.' He said 'despicable terrorist actions completely contradict the praiseworthy precepts of Islam,' and called the perpetrators 'the enemies of peace whom the international community must fight with all possible means.' A senior official in Islamabad has said the attack - using at least 500kg of explosives - bears all the hallmarks of an operation by Al-Qaeda, the terror network run by Osama bin Laden.
The blast came on the first anniversary of bin Laden's call for Pakistani Muslims to unleash jihad or holy war against the government, a vital ally in the US-led 'war on terror'. -- AFP
