Blast kills one at Islamabad eatery

Pakistan's was on high alert and foreign embassies were scrutinizing security measures yesterday after a bomb exploded in an Italian restaurant crowded with foreigners, killing a Turkish aid worker and wounding 12 other people.

US British embassy personnel were among the wounded in what appeared to be the first attack targeting foreigners in a recent wave of violence in Pakistan blamed on Islamic militants linked to al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

"Embassies are reviewing their security practices and the guidance they give to their employees," US embassy spokeswoman Kay Mayfield said yesterday.

US prohibits families of US diplomats from accompanying them on assignment in Pakistan, but most other countries allow it. A notice posted on the embassy's Web site late on Saturday urged Americans "to avoid areas where Westerners are known to congregate and to maintain a low profile."

"American citizens should stay alert, be aware of their surroundings, reduce travel to a minimum, and act self-defensively," it said.

Mayfield not comment on whether the US was taking any additional measures such as sending home nonessential employees.

Concrete lined streets yesterday in the upscale neighborhood around the Luna Caprese restaurant, a popular spot for expatriates in Islamabad. A dozen policemen stood guard outside the two-story villa in what was thought to be a secure neighborhood where diplomats and government officials live.

Police on high alert, stepping up vehicle checks throughout the capital, a senior police officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to media.

Officials the bomb was thrown over the wall or planted in the restaurant's garden, which had been crowded with diners. The restaurant had a single private security guard at its entrance, but none along its perimeter.

The Foreign Ministry said yesterday the dead Turkish woman worked for a foreign aid group. Police at the scene initially told reporters two people had died, but authorities later revised the toll to one.

A list of victims was posted in the reception of an Islamabad hospital. Five US citizens were listed as undergoing surgery. One Japanese citizen, one Canadian, one Briton and three Pakistanis also were wounded. Foreigners crowded around the list; some burst into tears.

"There were US embassy personnel among the injured. They are receiving medical treatment and their families are being notified," Mayfield said.

She was unable to confirm the number of personnel wounded or their nationalities.

The British Foreign Office reported that a staff member from the British High Commission had been "lightly injured" in the blast.

The man was being treated in a hospital, the office said.

Saturday's attack was the first in Pakistan's quiet capital in several months, and the first targeting foreigners here in more than a year.

In January last year, a security guard was killed and seven people injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a Marriott hotel near parliament.

The deadliest attack on expatriates in recent years was in 2002, when five people were killed, including two Americans, when suspected Islamic militants set off grenades at a church in Islamabad's heavily guarded diplomatic enclave.