36 die as 3 Baghdad hotels hit

Jan 26, 2010

Baghdad, Jan. 25: At least 36 people were killed and 71 wounded in three massive apparently coordinated minibus-borne bombings that targeted hotels in Baghdad on Monday less than six weeks from a general election.

Iraqi politicians and US forces have warned of rising violence ahead of the March 7 vote, the second parliamentary ballot since the 2003 US-led invasion ousted Saddam Hussein.

The first bomb struck near the Palestine and Sheraton hotels in Abu Nawaz, close to where a giant statue of Saddam was symbolically toppled almost seven years ago, at around 3.30 pm, an interior ministry official said. The second and third blasts just minutes later targeted the Babylon Hotel in the central district of Karrada and the Hamra hotel in Jadriyah, he added.

—AFP

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