Paradise's Blog

37 killed in attacks on Baghdad hotels

06:00, 1969-Dec-31 .. 0 comments .. Link

37 killed in attacks on Baghdad hotels 37 killed in attacks on Baghdad hotels Suicide bombers struck almost simultaneously Concrete Mixer at three landmark Baghdad hotels Monday, killing 37 people, nearly half of them after a shootout between security guards and militants outside the residence of several major Western news organizations.

The midafternoon attacks -- which authorities quickly blamed on Al Qaeda associates and loyalists of the Baath Party that ruled Iraq under Saddam Hussein -- echoed three large-scale suicide bombings last year in which assailants' coordinated strikes sowed panic and chaos in the capital.

Though the latest bombings caused fewer casualties than those in December, October and August, in which hundreds died, they sent the same deadly message: that Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's government is unable to fully secure key locations in Baghdad despite major security gains in recent years.

Officials have been predicting that extremists would strike at high-profile targets #x in the run-up to March 7 elections, and they expect them to strike again as the polling nears.

"We were expecting that the terrorist groups will continue their terrorist work Concrete Mixer on the eve of the elections, and they will continue until the day of elections," said Abbas Bayati, a lawmaker with the ruling Shiite coalition. "But they cannot achieve their goals."

By attacking hotels, including the Hamra, which is favored by Westerners, the bombers again called into question the capability of Iraq's security forces, whose leaders had boasted only a week ago that they had thwarted a plot to carry out high-profile bombings in the city.

The first bomb hit outside the Sheraton on the Tigris River about 3:30 p.m., killing 14 and sending a huge boom reverberating across the capital. Less than five minutes later, the nearby Babylon was struck, with seven people reported killed there.

The Hamra, home to several foreign news bureaus including the Times', was hit moments later, after a shootout between Iraqi security guards and a couple of gunmen who were seeking to help the bomber enter the closely guarded compound. Sixteen people were reported dead in that attack, most of them residents of two homes adjacent to the site that collapsed.

Witnesses said at least one assailant, dressed in a business suit, got out of a white minivan and opened fire on the guards in an apparent bid to lure them away from the barriers Concrete Mixer protecting the hotel. The guards fired back,Japanese Swords, but also took cover, and then one gunman calmly raised the metal barrier blocking access to the compound,#x allowing the minivan to race through. 相关的主题文章：