IRAQ: A series of explosions at three hotels in the centre of the Iraqi capital leaves over 30 dead and more than 70 wounded, breaking a month-long period of relative calm without coordinated attacks in Baghdad

Record ID: 487682

  • Title: IRAQ: A series of explosions at three hotels in the centre of the Iraqi capital leaves over 30 dead and more than 70 wounded, breaking a month-long period of relative calm without coordinated attacks in Baghdad
  • Date: 26th January 2010
  • Summary: BAGHDAD, IRAQ (JANUARY 25, 2010) MEMBERS OF CIVIL DEFENCE WALKING THROUGH RUBBLE AT HAMRA HOTEL CIVIL DEFENCE MEMBERS HELPING WOUNDED WOMAN/ RUBBLE HUGE CRATER WRECKED CIVILIAN VEHICLE UNDER RUBBLE PEOPLE LOOKING AT RUBBLE DAMAGED HOUSE/ BROKEN ELECTRICITY POLE DAMAGED HOUSE/ MEMBERS OF CIVIL DEFENCE INSIDE DAMAGED VEHICLE/ PEOPLE AND POLICEMEN AT BACKGROUND VARIO
  • Embargoed: 10th February 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVAE7PAPMRMJYRLSSXYSLW1B418H
  • Story Text: Three large explosions rocked well-known Baghdad hotels on Monday (January 25), killing at least 36 people and ending a 1-1/2-month lull in coordinated assaults on the Iraqi capital as the country heads into a March election.
    Police said at least 71 people were wounded in the three separate suicide car bombings, which went off within minutes of one another. Some of those injured or wounded were police. Health ministry data showed a lower figure for the death toll.
    The first blast occurred near an entrance of the Ishtar Sheraton hotel, a Baghdad landmark on the eastern side of the Tigris River. The shock wave blew open doors, shattered windows and sent thick dust swirling into the Reuters offices nearby.
    A giant mushroom cloud of debris rose from blast site as ambulances and fire trucks rushed to the scene. Helicopters buzzed overhead and soldiers blocked off entry.
    Towering concrete blastwalls protecting the hotel along the Abu Nawas riverside boulevard fell like dominoes. The blast took place across from a park frequented by families and picnickers.
    The hotel has not been a regular hotel for years and largely houses company offices and some media organisations, but some adventurous international tour groups began using it last year.
    Police said another blast went off just outside the al-Hamra hotel, which has been a hub for many Western journalists since the 2003 U.S. invasion. One western reporter said the hotel had sustained heavy damage. The Washington Post said three of its Iraqi staff were wounded.
    Houses collapsed near the Hamra, and civil defence officials searched for survivors. The blast at the Hamra, like that at the Sheraton, ripped a giant crater in the pavement.
    A final bomb appeared to have blown up near the Babylon hotel, which is used by Iraqi travellers and sometimes for government meetings.
    The area around the hotel has been hit several times in the past year by mortar or rocket fire aimed at the U.S. embassy, located across the river in the heavily guarded Green Zone.
    Baghdad security spokesman Major General Qassim al-Moussawi put the death toll at seven killed with 51 wounded, citing Health Ministry data. Death tolls from major attacks have become a political football in the run-up to the March 7 vote.
    The last major attack on Baghdad occurred on Dec. 8 when a series of car bombs killed more than 100 people. On Oct. 25 and Aug. 19, a total of around 250 people were killed in suicide assaults on government buildings.
    The March ballot is a critical moment for the country as it emerges from the sectarian slaughter unleashed by the 2003 invasion and begins to sign multibillion-deals with global oil firms that could set the stage for future prosperity.
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