Pakistani police examine the site of an bomb explosion, outside the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad Jan. 26, 2007. (Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    ISLAMABAD, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- A suicide bomber blew himself up on Friday outside the Marriott Hotel in Pakistani capital Islamabad, killing a security guard and injuring at least seven others.

    Talking to reporters, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao said the suicide bomber blew himself up after a hotel security guard stopped him from getting inside the building.

    The bomber reportedly was trying to enter the hotel through a side entrance near the parking area. The entrance leads to bars and ballrooms in the five-star hotel.

    The security guard and the bomber himself were killed in the blast. One injured is reportedly in critical condition, and some cars parking nearby were also damaged. The blast scene was also cordoned off.

    The initial evidence pointed the act to be a suicide attack, said Islamabad's police chief Iftikhar Chaudhry, quoted by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.

    There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the incident.

    President General Pervez Musharraf strongly condemned the bomb blast and ordered an immediate inquiry into it.

    The president reiterated Pakistan's "unwavering commitment in the fight against extremism and terrorism" and stressed that all out efforts would be made to "unmask and bring to book the perpetrators of this crime."

    Soon after the explosion, authorities declared red security alert in Islamabad's sensitive areas. High alert reportedly has also been declared in other major cities including Karachi and Peshawar.

    The explosion came just days ahead of the Muharram holidays on Jan. 29-30 for which the government has already made tight security arrangements.

    The blast is not the first one in years that hit the Islamabad Marriott Hotel where an explosion took place in October 2004, accordingly due to high accumulation of gas in the lobby.

    Friday's suicide bombing has left many people in a state of panic and fear in the federal capital where the past one and half years have not seen deadly suicide attack.

    According to reports, an anti-government militant leader in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal region last week vowed to launch attacks in revenge after Pakistani military air-raided a suspected militants' hideout in the tribal areas and killed at least eight people.