Pakistani spies hear al Qaeda celebrating blast

By Simon Cameron-Moore

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - An Islamist group that claimed responsibility for bombing the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad had not previously been heard of, but Pakistani intelligence eavesdroppers heard al Qaeda operatives celebrating the attack.

The suicide truck bomb that killed at least 53 people and gutted the hotel on Saturday has raised fresh fears about worsening security in nuclear-armed Pakistan, a key U.S. ally.

A group calling itself Fedayeen Islam (Partisans of Islam) claimed responsibility in a call to an Islamabad-based correspondent for al Arabiya, an Arab news channel.

"It's either new or it might be a distraction," said a senior intelligence officer. "What we do know is that there was a lot of celebration among the lower ranks of al Qaeda."

Three members of a Pakistani Islamist group known for al Qaeda ties were caught in Gujranwala, a city in central Punjab province, as a result of electronic surveillance hours after the Marriott blast, according to another intelligence officer.

Arabiya reported that the group that claimed responsibility issued several demands, including that Pakistan ends cooperation with the United States.

Many Pakistanis already say that the alliance with the United States incites Islamist militant violence and Pakistan should not be fighting "America's war".

On Tuesday, the military said troops backed by artillery and helicopter gunships killed 50 militants in Darra Adam Kheil, a tribal region close to the northwestern city of Peshawar. Ten more militants were killed in Swat, a northwestern valley.