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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Suicide blasts hits Baghdad hotel | Suicide blasts hits Baghdad hotel |
| (21 minutes later) | |
| At least 12 people have been killed and 15 injured in a suicide attack on a hotel in central Baghdad. | |
| Sunni tribal leaders meeting at the Mansour Hotel were the target of the attack, police say. One of them, Fasal al-Khoud, is said to be among the dead. | Sunni tribal leaders meeting at the Mansour Hotel were the target of the attack, police say. One of them, Fasal al-Khoud, is said to be among the dead. |
| An Iraqi journalist, Rahim al-Maliki, who worked for al-Iraqiya TV, was also killed in the blast. | An Iraqi journalist, Rahim al-Maliki, who worked for al-Iraqiya TV, was also killed in the blast. |
| Earlier, blasts in the southern city of Hilla, and in the city of Baiji, in the north, left at least 18 people dead. | Earlier, blasts in the southern city of Hilla, and in the city of Baiji, in the north, left at least 18 people dead. |
| 'Huge explosion' | 'Huge explosion' |
| The bomb exploded in the lobby of the Mansour Hotel, which is used by Westerners and Iraqi officials. | The bomb exploded in the lobby of the Mansour Hotel, which is used by Westerners and Iraqi officials. |
| US forces have now sealed the hotel off. | US forces have now sealed the hotel off. |
| Sunni tribal leaders from the western Anbar province had been meeting at the hotel. | Sunni tribal leaders from the western Anbar province had been meeting at the hotel. |
| Mr al-Khoud was one of the founders of the Anbar Salvation Council which has close contacts with the US-led coalition. | Mr al-Khoud was one of the founders of the Anbar Salvation Council which has close contacts with the US-led coalition. |
| "It was a huge explosion, the whole building shook for a few seconds," one witness said. | "It was a huge explosion, the whole building shook for a few seconds," one witness said. |
| A Mansour Hotel worker, Saif al-Rubaie, 28, told the Associated Press the casualties were Iraqis, mostly employees who were in the reception area. | A Mansour Hotel worker, Saif al-Rubaie, 28, told the Associated Press the casualties were Iraqis, mostly employees who were in the reception area. |
| The hotel, situated on the banks of the Tigris River, is near Baghdad's Green Zone and often used by Iraqi officials visiting the capital. | The hotel, situated on the banks of the Tigris River, is near Baghdad's Green Zone and often used by Iraqi officials visiting the capital. |
| A number of foreigners also live in the hotel. | A number of foreigners also live in the hotel. |
| In other attacks across the country, at least eight people died when a bomb ripped into a crowd of police recruits outside the governer's office in Hilla, 100km (60 miles) south of Baghdad. | |
| And at least 10 people were killed when an attacker rammed an oil tanker into the police HQ in the northern oil city of Baiji. |