At least 24 people were killed in a series of car bombings in central Baghdad on Monday, police said, ending a 6-week lull in coordinated assaults on the Iraqi capital as the country heads for national elections in March.
At least 42 people were wounded in attacks at the Ishtar Sheraton, the Babylon, and the al-Hamra hotels, police said. Iraqi authorities were searching for survivors in a number of houses that collapsed near the Hamra, which is popular with the western media.
One blast occurred at an entrance of the Ishtar Sheraton hotel, a Baghdad landmark on the eastern side of the Tigris river, and the shock wave blew open doors, shattered windows and sent thick dust swirling into the Reuters offices nearby.
A cloud of debris rose from blast site as ambulances and fire trucks rushed to the scene. Helicopters buzzed overhead afterward and soldiers blocked off entry.
TV images showed that towering concrete blastwalls protecting the hotel along the Abu Nawas riverside boulevard had fallen 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.
Zina Tareq, an Iraqi journalist who was in her office at the time of the blast, said she dived under a desk with the five-year-old daughter of a colleague.
"We heard a deafening sound. The ceiling collapsed on us and the windows shattered," she said. Another colleague was wounded by broken glass.
Critical Moment
A second bomb appeared to have blown up near the Babylon hotel, which is used by Iraqi travellers and sometimes for government meetings.
Police said the third blast went off at the al-Hamra hotel, which has been home to many Western journalists since the 2003 US invasion. One western reporter said the hotel had sustained heavy damage.
The last major attack on Baghdad occurred on December 8 when a series of car bombs killed more than 100 people. On October 25 and August 19, a total of around 250 people were killed in suicide assaults on government buildings.
Iraq is heading into a highly charged election on March 7.
The 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.
