At least 53 people were killed and another 226 injured in a suicide bomb attack on the Marriott hotel in Pakistan''s capital on Saturday, Pakistani officials said on Sunday.

A suicide truck bomber attacked the Marriott hotel, a place favored by foreigners, on Saturday evening, starting a fire that swept through the building. The attack occurred just hours after Pakistan''s new President Asif Ali Zardari pledged tough measures to root out terrorism.

The Czech ambassador to Pakistan, Ivo Zdarek, was among several foreigners who died in the deadly attack, Pakistani officials said.

The blast destroyed the entire front section of the hotel and left a crater of up to 6 meters (20 feet) in front of the hotel''s gates.

No organization has yet claimed responsibility for the deadly blast. However, Pakistan''s Interior Ministry blamed Al-Qaeda-linked Taliban militants for the hotel bombing.