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Sailor, airman killed in Pakistan hotel blast

A 22-year-old sailor and an Air Force officer were among the more than 50 people killed in Saturday’s suicide bombing at a luxury hotel popular with foreigners in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Cryptologic Technician 3rd Class Matthew J. O’Bryant, 22, of Duluth, Ga., was killed at the Marriott Hotel, according to the Defense Department. O’Bryant was assigned to Navy Information Operations Command Maryland at Fort Meade.

Lt. Cmdr. Doug Gabos, of Naval Network Warfare Command, said O’Bryant was on temporary assignment in Pakistan and had been there for about two months.

Air Force Maj. Rodolfo I. Rodriquez, 34, of El Paso, Texas, was also killed from injuries sustained in the bombing, according to DoD. Rodriquez served with the 86th Construction and Training Squadron based at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

“He was in the area assisting with the training of Pakistani forces,” said Ramstein spokesman Aaron Schoenfeld.

The deaths led to confusion after scores of news agencies reported Monday that the two dead U.S. service members were Marines. Some publications reported the bombing was targeting Marines, although a spokesman for the Corps said no Marines were killed in the attack. A suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the upscale hotel on Saturday, killing at least 53 and injuring more than 200. The hotel is one of the primary meeting points for foreigners in Pakistan.

In a country accustomed to a rash of suicide bombings in the past several years, the toll of the blast had commentators referring to it as Pakistan’s 9/11.

The bombing of the posh American hotel occurred just days after the U.S. military’s top officer, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Pakistan following confirmation from U.S. officials that military units in Afghanistan had targeted militants in Pakistan.

The bombing occurred as State Department officials recover from the brazen attack on the embassy in the capital of Yemen last week. At least 18 people, including an American, were killed when terrorists attacked the embassy on Sept. 17.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.