Blast targets Marriott Hotel in Islamabad

A suicide truck bombing destroyed the packed Marriott Hotel, near the Parliament building and the prime minister's home, in the city of Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday night.

The attack killed at least 40 people and wounded another 200, police said.

People were still trapped in the hotel, which burst into flames after the explosion caused a natural gas pipe leak, officials said. The fire was still burning at 2 a.m., six hours after the blast.

Rescuers worked to moved bloodied bodies from the hotel but were forced to stop for fear that the structure could collapse.

Details and the number of fatalities are still unclear because of conflicting initial reports. It is unclear if only one or two vehicles were involved in the attack.

The gas leak set the top floor of the five-story, 258-room hotel on fire, police said, and the blaze quickly engulfed the entire structure.