Six killed in bomb blast

At least six people died and 16 others were injured when a bomb planted in a van detonated outside a hotel in Baghdad today.

The bomb detonated outside the Palestine Hotel near a pedestrian entry point to the facility. The explosion sparked a fire.

The bomb was left inside a bag which detonated inside the van, which had stopped outside the hotel.

The van was being used as a bus to ferry people from downtown Baghdad to the Karrada neighbourhood.

Earlier a car bomb exploded in the car park of a government-run newspaper in the Baghdad, killing at least one person and injuring 30, police said.

At least 25 cars caught fire in the blast in the car park of the al-Sabah newspaper, located in a Sunni-dominated neighbourhood in northern Baghdad, said police 1st Lt Mohammad Khayoum.

The newspaper building was also badly damaged, he said, adding that one person was killed and 30 were injured.