SITREP 04, AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD: ONE MISSING TDY

C O N F I D E N T I A L ISLAMABAD 003080 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/21/2018 TAGS: PGOV PK PREL AMGT CACS ASEC PTER PINR SUBJECT: SITREP 04, AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD: ONE MISSING TDY PERSONNEL CONFIRMED DEAD, ONE STILL MISSING REF: A. ISLAMABAD 3078 ¶B. ISLAMABAD 3076 ¶C. ISLAMABAD 3075 ¶D. ISLAMABAD 3074 Classified By: Anne W. Patterson for reasons 1.4 (b),(d). ¶1. (C) As of September 21, 1830 hours (local time) the body of one missing TDY employee has been identified in the ruins of the Marriott hotel, bringing the total number of official Americans killed to two. One TDY employee remains missing and is feared dead. A Department of Defense medevac flight left Chaklala Airbase in Islamabad for the U.S. military base in Bagram, Afghanistan on September 21 at 0730, carrying one patient and the remains of one deceased. One official American remains hospitalized at Shifa Hospital and will be medevaced on U.S. military aircraft at 0100 on September 22. The aircraft will also transport the remains of the recently identified second official American fatality. One Embassy contractor will remain at Shifa Hospital for observation over the next few days. An additional Embassy employee from DHS/ICE will be medevaced via commercial air to London on September 22. Islamabad remains relatively quiet with beefed-up police presence along major thoroughfares. ¶2. (C) Local media reports that the death toll of the attack currently stands at 57 with 271 injured. The death toll will likely rise as Pakistani authorities continue to search for victims in the hotel. Czech Ambassador to Pakistan Ivo Zdarek is among the confirmed dead, as reported by the Pakistani Prime Minister to local media and by the Czech Embassy to us. Local media also reports that German and Vietnamese nationals are among the confirmed dead with Saudi, Afghan and Moroccan nationals among the injured. ¶3. (C) Interior Minister Rehman Malik held a press conference at 1730 on September 21 and showed attack footage from Marriott security cameras. The Interior Ministry plans to release the footage to media outlets. During the press conference, Malik stated that the Government of Pakistan (GOP) would not require foreign assistance in the attack investigation. ¶4. (C) Over thirty Embassy residences were slightly damaged in the attack, mostly blown out windows. Mylar sheeting once again likely prevented serious injury to staff members in their homes at the time of the blast. Embassy assessment teams conducted site visits on September 21 and began repairing damaged residences. ¶5. (C) The GOP announced on September 21 a Rs 10 million (USD 127,795) reward for any information on the perpetrators of the bombing. The Prime Minister held a press conference at 1400 hours local time, and announced that victims' families would be compensated Rs 300,000 (USD 3,833) for the dead and Rs 100,000 (USD 1,278) for the wounded. ¶6. (C) The exact number of private Americans at the hotel is still not known. Post continues to work from the hotel's three-day old guest list and is contacting all Americans possibly at the hotel during the time of the attack. A warden message was released at 1645 local time on September 21 advising recipients to take appropriate precautions to ensure personal security. Contact information for Embassy Islamabad and its constituent posts was included in the message. ¶7. (C) An Embassy EAC was convened at 0900 hours (Ref A). Mission personnel have been instructed only to travel around the city for official business or critical needs-based shopping. Consulates Peshawar, Karachi and Lahore held separate EAC meetings at 1100 local time and have reported meeting outcomes separately. Embassy Islamabad will be open regular working hours on Monday, September 22. PATTERSON