Former Atlanta student among dead in Pakistan blast

A Navy sailor who once attended an Atlanta college was among the more than 50 people killed in Saturday’s truck bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, the Department of Defense announced Tuesday.

Third Class Petty Officer Matthew O’Bryant, 22, died in the massive bomb blast, which set a fire that raged for hours and gutted most of the five-story luxury hotel.

O’Bryant attended the Art Institute of Atlanta from 2004 to 2006 before joining the Navy, said his mother, Barbara O’Bryant.

An Alabama native, Matthew O’Bryant was assigned to the Navy Information Operations Command in Ford Meade, Md.

He had been in Islamabad for less than two months, serving as a cryptologic technician,handling state-of-the-art electronics and repair, Navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Doug Gabos said.

“They can be deployed anywhere in the world,” Gabos said.

— Shane Blatt