Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
By ROBERT H. REID - Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - (AP) At least two enormous bombs, one of them a
cement-mixing truck packed with explosives, blew up outside the Palestine
Hotel _ home to many foreign journalists in Iraq _ killing at least 11
people and wounding at least 13 others, Iraqi police said.
At least one of the bombs appeared to have gone off at an Iraqi
police checkpoint on the northeast side of Firdous Square adjacent to the
hotel compound.
Associated Press Television News pictures showed the cement mixer
exploding in a huge ball of flame and a cloud of smoke billowing into the
central Baghdad sky.
The exploding cement truck blew a hole in a 12-foot concrete wall
that separates the hotel from the square where an enormous statue of Saddam
Hussein was toppled after U.S. troops captured the Iraqi capital on April 9,
2003.
U.S. soldiers maintain a presence inside the hotel compound.
Afterward they increased their numbers on the perimeter of the 5-acre
compound, which also includes the Sheraton Hotel.
Security sources said the explosions occurred two minutes apart, not
long before Muslims marking Ramadan were preparing to break their daylong
fast.
An AP photographer at a checkpoint at the northwest corner of the
hotel said at least 3 fellow photographers from other media were injured and
taken away by ambulance.
Three AP Television personnel inside the hotel sustained minor
injuries.
The death toll of 11 was reported by the Qatari-based Al-Jazeera and
the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya networks, quoting Iraqi security officials.
The bombers did not penetrate the concrete blast walls around the
Palestine Hotel, which was last hit by an insurgent rocket attack on Oct. 7,
2004.
There was considerable damage to the windows and rooms on the south
side of the 19-story hotel. TV footage showed a huge cloud of smoke rising
from the scene and debris falling from the building.
After the bombing, Iraqi forces opened up with heavy automatic
weapons fire, apparently firing at random. There was no sign of a further
assault on the hotel.
Maj. Abbas Mohammed Suleiman said the hotel compound was hit by
rockets and car bombs.
The Associated Press' journalists had to evacuate their bureau in
the hotel and take refuge in the corridor.
Inside the hotel, light fixtures were blown down, pictures were
blasted off the walls and windows were shattered.
BAGHDAD, Iraq - (AP) At least two enormous bombs, one of them a
cement-mixing truck packed with explosives, blew up outside the Palestine
Hotel _ home to many foreign journalists in Iraq _ killing at least 11
people and wounding at least 13 others, Iraqi police said.
At least one of the bombs appeared to have gone off at an Iraqi
police checkpoint on the northeast side of Firdous Square adjacent to the
hotel compound.
Associated Press Television News pictures showed the cement mixer
exploding in a huge ball of flame and a cloud of smoke billowing into the
central Baghdad sky.
The exploding cement truck blew a hole in a 12-foot concrete wall
that separates the hotel from the square where an enormous statue of Saddam
Hussein was toppled after U.S. troops captured the Iraqi capital on April 9,
2003.
U.S. soldiers maintain a presence inside the hotel compound.
Afterward they increased their numbers on the perimeter of the 5-acre
compound, which also includes the Sheraton Hotel.
Security sources said the explosions occurred two minutes apart, not
long before Muslims marking Ramadan were preparing to break their daylong
fast.
An AP photographer at a checkpoint at the northwest corner of the
hotel said at least 3 fellow photographers from other media were injured and
taken away by ambulance.
Three AP Television personnel inside the hotel sustained minor
injuries.
The death toll of 11 was reported by the Qatari-based Al-Jazeera and
the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya networks, quoting Iraqi security officials.
The bombers did not penetrate the concrete blast walls around the
Palestine Hotel, which was last hit by an insurgent rocket attack on Oct. 7,
2004.
There was considerable damage to the windows and rooms on the south
side of the 19-story hotel. TV footage showed a huge cloud of smoke rising
from the scene and debris falling from the building.
After the bombing, Iraqi forces opened up with heavy automatic
weapons fire, apparently firing at random. There was no sign of a further
assault on the hotel.
Maj. Abbas Mohammed Suleiman said the hotel compound was hit by
rockets and car bombs.
The Associated Press' journalists had to evacuate their bureau in
the hotel and take refuge in the corridor.
Inside the hotel, light fixtures were blown down, pictures were
blasted off the walls and windows were shattered.