Islamabad hotel reopens three months after blast

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The Marriott Hotel in Islamabad reopened Sunday just over three months after it was virtually destroyed in a suicide truck-bomb attack that killed 55 people.

The hotel is a stone's throw from parliament and the presidency and is a favourite haunt of politicians, diplomats and wealthy Pakistanis.

Its owner, Sadruddin Hashwani, said at an opening ceremony the blast on September 20 was an attack on Pakistan itself.

"We have expressed our resolve that we will not bow before the enemies of Pakistan," said Hashwani, who was fulfilling a promise to reopen by the end of December.

The government said last week an al Qaeda-linked militant group called the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi was behind the attack.

The bomber tried unsuccessfully to ram his truck through the hotel's front security gates. Guards at the gate were unable to prevent the explosion which set the 298-room hotel ablaze.

Of the dead, 43 were hotel staff and guards.

Six foreigners were killed including the Czech ambassador and three Americans. Buildings hundreds of metres away were damaged by the bomb, which that investigators said contained 600 kg (1,350 lb) of explosives.

(editing by Andrew Dobbie)