Five killed in Baghdad blast

A large explosion ripped through a restaurant in central Baghdad on New Year’s Eve, killing five people, the city police chief said.

Rescuers were seen pulling people from the building. Witnesses said the blast was caused by a car bomb.

Five people died, according to Lieutenant General Ahmed Kadhem, deputy Iraqi interior minister and Baghdad chief of police.

Ambulances with sirens wailing converged on the area near the former US Embassy. The restaurant, Nabil, had advertised a New Year’s Eve party, including live music and bellydancing.

Several cars outside the restaurant were wrecked and in flames.

Gunfire was heard after the explosion. US soldiers were seen heading to the site of the blast, and US military helicopters hovered overhead. Firefighters trained hoses on the flames. A large crater was visible on a side street next to the restaurant, which is on the corner of a city block.

US soldiers and Iraqi police had stepped up security in Baghdad today, erecting more razor wire and checkpoints in key areas. Military officials have warned of the possibility of attacks by insurgents over the holiday period.

Hospital Officials said 25 people were injured in the blast. Some of the casualties were foreigners.

Blood streaming down his face, a man named Khalil said: ”I don’t know what it was, whether it was a rocket or a bomb. Why did they have to do it to us?”

Nabil Hanna, owner of the restaurant, said he was not there at the time of the blast but that he had heard it was crowded with people, including many foreigners who were attending the New Year’s party.

The blast blew up the back of the restaurant, where an American soldier leaned into the rubble after discovering an injured victim.

“She’s got a pulse, she’s got a pulse,” he screamed.

One witness, Ahmed Hassanain, said a white Toyota Corolla car drove by the area five or six times before the bombing. The last time it passed, he said, the guard at the restaurant shot at it. It drove away. Two minutes later, there was an explosion. He said he did not know if it was the Corolla that blew up.

“These people are terrorists,” Hassanain said. “Nobody here supports them.”

Outside the restaurant, a young man and a woman with blood on her face and shoulders clutched each other, crying. She said they were a family of six having New Year’s dinner in the building next to the restaurant when the blast ripped away the side wall of their building. She said her uncle was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Inside the restaurant, big round tables set for dinner were covered with food. One table held a bottle of White Horse scotch, still standing but with the neck blown off.