Clinton decries violence in northwestern Pakistan

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, on an Asian tour, condemned a suicide bomber for ramming his car into a U.S. government vehicle in northwestern Pakistan Monday, injuring two Americans.

Clinton said at the outset of a news conference in Jakarta that she wants to “very clearly condemn the attack on our consulate personnel in Peshawar, Pakistan.”

“We pray for the safe recovery of both American and Pakistani victims and once again we deplore the cowardly act of suicide bombing and terrorism that has affected so many around the world,” the secretary added.

Clinton said it was still too early in the investigation of the incident to talk in broad detail. She did tell reporters that it “appears that a van filled with both American and Pakistani personnel, as well as locally employed staff at the embassy site, were targeted by a suicide bomber who drove a vehicle into this van with the consequence that there were injuries of both Pakistanis and Americans in (the van) and on the ground.”

“The information I have is that the Pakistani authorities responded very appropriately to the scene and we don’t have any further information at this point,” she said. “At this point the injured are being taken care of, some have been airlifted to Islamabad hospitals. But we appreciate the support we are getting from the Pakistani law enforcement and government personnel.”

“It is deeply regrettable that there are those who pursue political goals through terrorism,” she said.

Clinton was in Indonesia’s capital Monday to offer U.S. support for a regionally endorsed plan to ease rising tensions by implementing a code of conduct for all claimants to disputed islands.