|
Three Iraqis Killed, U.S. Army Takes More Causalities
 |
|
U.S. troops comb the wreckage of a bomb attack at Baghdad's Shahine hotel
|
BAGHDAD,
January 28 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – At least three
Iraqis were killed and 11 others injured early on Wednesday, January
28, in a car bomb attack on a Baghdad hotel, one day after six U.S.
soldiers were killed in separate resistance operations.
A
powerful car bomb early Wednesday tore off the Shahine hotel, housing
an interim Iraqi minister, killing at least three people and
destroying a security station, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The
explosion hit the hotel, frequently used by foreign businessmen, in
the city's upmarket Karrada district and a small police post across
the street shortly after 6:30 am (0330 GMT), punching out nearby
windows.
"There
are at least three dead," Lieutenant Ahmed Abdul Karim told AFP,
while medics added that at least 11 people were injured.
A
large portion of the hotel is occupied by
Iraq
's interim minister for labor Sami Azara al-Majun, according to
security officials.
"The
minister was praying when the blast happened, he is safe, all of the
second floor was occupied by the minister and his security," said
Uday Nuri, one of the minister's guards.
Black
smoke was seen pouring from the hotel as dazed guests emptied onto the
street in their pyjamas.
Lieutenant
Hussein Ali, the chief of police patrols in Karrada, said the bomb was
concealed inside a medical emergency vehicle which drove up to the
hotel at high speed.
Hotel
guard Salem Jabbar, who was manning a barrier protecting the hotel,
blamed the attack on a bomber.
"I
was in front of the barrier when an ambulance arrived at high speed.
We opened fire but it succeeded in getting past us, exploding in front
of the hotel," said Hotel guard Salem Jabbar, who was manning a
barrier protecting the hotel.
German
businessman Jurgen Pratt, staying at the hotel, said the blast caught
him in the middle of his morning ablutions.
"I
was in the shower when it happened. There are lots of businessmen from
all nationalities in this hotel," he added.
The
site of the blast lies close to the Polish embassy.
Poland
is one of the key military contributors to the U.S.-led occupation in
Iraq
.
Baghdad
has been rocked by a series of recent deadly explosions.
A
car bomb on January 18 killed
at least 23 mostly Iraqi contract workers outside the occupation's
headquarters in the capital.
Another
car bomb on New Year's eve outside
a restaurant in the Karrada district left eight dead.
U.S.
military and occupation officials do not keep track of Iraqi
casualties, but estimates range between 8,000 and 10,000, according to
Reuters.
More
U.S.
Fatalities
On
Tuesday, January 27, six
U.S.
soldiers were killed and four others wounded in two separate
resistance operations west and south of
Baghdad
, Reuters said.
In
the western town of
Khaldiya
, three
U.S.
soldiers were killed and one wounded by a roadside bomb.
A
Reuters cameraman in the town saw civilian cars on fire.
A
U.S.
military spokesman said early reports indicated at least one Iraqi was
killed and several others wounded.
Three
more
U.S.
soldiers were killed later in a roadside bomb attack on a convoy near
Iskandariya, 30 miles south of
Baghdad
, the American military said, adding three others were wounded.
According
to Reuters, the new deaths took to 520 the number of
U.S.
soldiers killed since the beginning of the invasion in last March,
including 361 in resistance operations.
Also
on Tuesday, two CNN employees were killed and another slightly wounded
when their two-car convoy was ambushed on the outskirts of
Baghdad
, the American newscaster said.
Translator-producer
Duraid Isa Mohammad and driver Yasser Khattab died of multiple gunshot
wounds, the Atlanta-based network said in a statement.
Both
were Iraqi nationals and had worked for CNN for about a year.
Cameraman
Scott McWhinnie was grazed in the head by a bullet, CNN said, adding
the
U.S.
military dispatched a quick reaction force team.
The
attacks came after U.N. Chief Kofi Annan announced Tuesday readiness
to send a team to decide on the feasibility of holding free and direct
elections in the occupied country, provided he received satisfactory
security guarantees.
|
