A local sailor is one of 53 people killed in Saturday's bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Petty Officer Matthew O'Bryant's family tells News Five he was deployed overseas less than a month ago. The 22-year-old was assigned to the Navy Information Operations Command in Fort Meade, Maryland.
O'Bryant is a graduate of Theodore High School, where he excelled in the ROTC program. He is survived by his wife, Bridgette, who lives in Buckatuna, Mississippiand his parents, Barbara and Tommy O'Bryant, who still reside in Theodore.
O'Bryant's dad says his son had a military issued telephone he used to call his family for 30 minutes each week, and just one hour before the explosion, he talked to his wife.
No one has claimed responsibility for the truck bombing, but al-Qaeda and the Taliban are being blamed. The bombing came just hours after Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari made his first address to Parliament, less than a mile from the hotel. Zardari reappeared on state television early Sunday to condemn the "cowardly attack."
President Bush says the bombing is a reminder of the ongoing threat faced by Pakistan, the United States and all those who stand against violent extremism.
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