U.S. embassy sounds red alert; prohibits Americans from visiting Islamabad’s Marriott Hotel
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The Marriott Hotel in Islamabad’s capital has received a warning from the American embassy in Pakistan about a potential terrorist attack on American citizens, according to an official statement, and American staff are not allowed to go there.
The embassy released the statement on Sunday, two days after a policeman was killed in a suicide attack in Islamabad.
It stated, “The U.S. administration is aware of intelligence that suggests that unidentified individuals may be preparing to target Americans at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad at some point over the holidays.”
The message added that, as of right away, “the Embassy in Islamabad is forbidding all American staff from visiting the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.”
The embassy further ordered that all mission personnel be advised to forgo all unnecessary and unauthorized travel in the capital during the Christmas season, as Islamabad has been placed on “Red Alert” due to security concerns and has banned all public gatherings.
It advised Americans to check their personal security measures, be vigilant at gatherings and places of worship, stay away from crowded areas, and exercise caution.
The warning follows the most recent incident in Islamabad and an increase in strikes in the countryside by the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorist organization.
Since breaking a months-long cease-fire with the Pakistani government in November, the TTP has increased its attacks on security forces.
On December 23, a suicide bomber killed one police officer and two suspected militants, among them a female member of the dreaded Pakistani Taliban group. As a result, Pakistani authorities issued a “red alert” for the federal capital.
Pakistan has registered 420 terrorist acts since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021, according to state statistics. The TTP has alone claimed responsibility for 141 strikes in the last three months.
When a dump truck full of explosives exploded in front of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad’s red zone on September 20, 2008, at least 54 people were killed and a number of others were hurt.