A bomb exploded in the back garden of an Italian restaurant popular with foreigners in Pakistan's capital Saturday night, killing a Turkish woman and wounding 11, police said.
Personnel from the U.S. and British embassies were among the injured. It appeared to be the first attack targeting foreigners in a recent wave of violence in Pakistan.
A list of victims was posted in the reception area at Islamabad's Poly Clinic. Five U.S. citizens were listed as undergoing surgery. It said one Japanese, one Canadian, one Briton and three Pakistanis were wounded. Foreigners crowded around the list; some burst into tears.
Zahid Janjua, a student at the city's International Islamic University, was dining nearby at another restaurant. He helped bring victims to waiting ambulances, staining his clothes with blood.
"It was chaos. Broken tables and chairs lay scattered across the lawn. There were eight or nine people lying injured and crying for help," he said.
Popular spot for expatriatesOfficials said the bomb was planted in the garden or thrown over a wall of the Luna Caprese restaurant, a popular socializing spot for expatriates in Islamabad.
Pakistani Interior Secretary Kamal Shah confirmed the Turkish woman's death. A police officer at the scene initially told reporters two people had died, but authorities later said there was only one fatality.
The blast rang out across downtown Islamabad around 8:45 p.m. local time. Fire engines and police rushed to the scene, which was littered with blood and debris.
City police chief Shahid Nadeem Baloch told reporters that eight foreigners and three Pakistanis were wounded.
"There is a crater in the ground which suggests that it was a planted bomb, but we need to investigate further," Baloch said.
Americans among injuredShah said a bomb could have been thrown over the wall.
"There were U.S. Embassy personnel among the injured. They are receiving medical treatment and their families are being notified," embassy spokeswoman Kay Mayfield said.
The British Foreign Office said a staff member from the British High Commission had been "lightly injured."
"I was working in the kitchen when the blast took place on the lawn. Something hit me on the shoulder," said wounded restaurant employee Haji Mal.
Pakistan's new parliament was set to convene Monday. On Tuesday, two suicide bombings killed 24 people and wounded more than 200 in the eastern city of Lahore.
With such attacks on the rise, a growing number of Pakistanis are questioning U.S.-backed President Pervez Musharraf's approach to countering al-Qaida and the Taliban.
The winning parties in last month's parliamentary elections have pledged to form a new counterterrorism strategy when they form a new coalition government next week.