Four killed in hotel car bomb attack

A car bomb exploded in front of a hotel used by westerners in central Baghdad today, killing at least four people including a South African.

Three burned out cars were seen in front of the Shaheen hotel. Another half burned car lay a short distance away, on Masbah street in the Karadah district.

The US military command and Karadah police chief Kadhim Khalas said three Iraqis were killed.

At least 17 people were admitted to four hospitals including a foreigner, doctors said. Khalas said it was not clear if the car carrying the explosives was moving or stationary.

A hotel receptionist said a South African guest was killed. He gave no other details.

Minister of Work Sami Izara al-Majoun, who lived in the hotel, said he was getting ready for his morning prayers when a loud explosion shook his room at about 6.50 a.m. and the building was filled with smoke.

“My guards came to the room and rushed me downstairs. The hotel was burning and there was fire and smoke everywhere,” he said.

He said some foreigners were staying in the hotel but didn’t know their nationalities or profession. “The persons behind this attack are cowardly terrorists who are targeting civilians and foreigners.

We are not going to be scared and we will not hide as Saddam Hussein did,” he said.

Residents and relatives of hotel employees said the hotel had received anonymous threats, asking the management to evict foreigners.

Parts of the hotel’s concrete walls were torn away, leaving gaping holes and destroying the interior.

The walls that remained were blackened.

The Shaheen hotel is close to the former US Embassy, the Belarus Embassy and a police station.

The blast came a day after two roadside bombs exploded west and south of Baghdad, killing six US troops and two Iraqis. Also yesterday, two CNN employees were shot and killed by unidentified assailants on a road, just outside Baghdad when they were driving back from an assignment.