Foreign ministry staff commemorate victims of Pakistan bombing

Jun 3, 2008, 12:38 GMT

Copenhagen - Danish Foreign Ministry staff Tuesday attended a memorial ceremony for the victims of a bombing outside the Danish embassy in Pakistan the day before.

Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller said 'we are not without friends' in remarks quoted by the online edition of the Politiken newspaper, referring to a wide range of statements condemning the blast that killed six people including two Pakistani nationals employed by the embassy.

'On my own and the government's behalf, I would like to express my deepest sympathy with the victims,' Moller added.

Pakistan's ambassador to Denmark, Pauzia Abbas, was also present.

Moller said Denmark was working closely with Pakistani authorities, and just before a meeting with the foreign affairs committee said Copenhagen still did not know who had committed the bombing.

Speculation has focused on al-Qaeda, Taliban or militants from Pakistan's volatile tribal areas angered over Denmark's involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the publication of controversial caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in Danish newspapers.

Meanwhile, teams from the Danish Foreign Ministry, military intelligence as well as the security and intelligence service (PET) were on their way to Pakistan.

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Monday condemned the bombing as a 'cowardly attack,' adding 'Denmark will not give in to terrorists.'