SINGAPORE DEPLORES BOMB ATTACK IN PAKISTAN

SINGAPORE, Sept 22 (Bernama) -- Singapore deplores the suicide bomb attack that killed over 50 people at the J. W. Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan on Saturday night.

Singapore's Foreign Ministry said the act of violence and terror, taking
place during the Ramadan period, had killed and injured many innocent civilians.

In a statement here Monday, the ministry said the republic firmly stood
with the international community to support the efforts of the Pakistani
government
and its people to fight terrorism.

The Singapore government extended its deepest condolences to the families
of the victims, the statement said.

The death toll in the attack is rising as Pakistani authorities recovered
more bodies at the blast site.

The Singapore government which is already concerned with the republic's
safety after the bombings in New York on Sept 11, 2001, and later years in
Bali and Jakarta in the region has taken high measures to safeguard the
city-state from terrorist attacks.

The authorities here are also trying to locate the Jemaah Islamiah militant
network leader, Singaporean-born Mas Selamat Kastari, who is on the run
after escaping from a detention centre here last February.

His militant group planned to hijack an aircraft and crash it into the
Changi international airport, the Singapore authorities had said.
-- BERNAMA