The investigators and rescuers after Saturday's deadly Marriott Hotel blast have completed the search operation of 298 rooms, halls, kitchens and restaurants. But the forensic experts were still busy in their assessment work in the operation.
According to the rescue workers, there is no possibility of any other dead body in the gutted structure of the hotel. The joint investigation team (JIT), constituted by the interior ministry to probe the suicide bombing incident has completed probe and is likely to present its report anytime on Tuesday, sources in interior ministry told this scribe.
They said that the report prepared by JIT headed by Director General, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), covers only the details of blast and the losses, relying only on the details of the hotel's CCTV footage released on Sunday, had a very limited scope.
They said that the security cameras were installed in all four directions of the hotel building and interior ministry had got the footage from these cameras. The footage taken from the camera installed on the barrier must be clear and could help to identify the people sitting in the truck, as it was close to the truck and can show face of suicide bomber and first small blast inside the truck, they added.
Sources said that the investigators are in search of al Qaeda cell in Islamabad that is believed to have carried out the bombing of the Marriott Hotel. They said that the investigators believe that the attackers constructed the massive 600-kilogram explosive at a safe house in the capital, because all heavy vehicles are being searched at entry points of the Islamabad. The focus of the investigation team is to track down the network in Islamabad which must have constructed the massive explosion, they said.
They said that it was not possible for attackers to bring the truck carrying 600 kilogram of explosive over long distances and through checkpoints it is not possible.
Dramatic footage of Saturday night's attack showed the attacker failed to get through the barrier when he crashed his explosives-laden truck into the hotel's security gates in which at least 60 people were martyred.
Interior ministry official said that after preliminary investigation it was found that the explosive used in the bombing has similarity with those used in Danish Embassy car bomb explosion in Islamabad in June.
The al Qaeda had accepted the responsibility of the Danish Embassy bomb explosion, which is guiding the investigators to move forward towards this direction. Meanwhile, engineers said that only upper part of the hotel was affected by the blast, declaring the structure and foundation of the hotel solid and safe. They also ruled out the possibility of hotel's building collapse.