Doc: 00106764 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 10:45:56 2005
*** Version history. (* this story, F final, S semifinal) ***
aD8DEF7904 10-24-2005 10:45:56* BC-APNewsAlert:Security officials say the
Copyright 2005 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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BC-APNewsAlert,0032
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – Security officials say the Palestine Hotel, which houses many foreign journalists in Iraq, has been hit by three car bombs.
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Doc: 00106745 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 10:42:14 2005
*** Version history. (* this story, F final, S semifinal) ***
aD8DEF5HG0 10-24-2005 10:42:14* BC-APNewsAlert:Palestine Hotel in Baghdad
Copyright 2005 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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BC-APNewsAlert,0030
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – Palestine Hotel in Baghdad comes under attack, forcing journalists in the hotel to take refuge in the hallway.
BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack,0099
URGENT
Palestine Hotel in Baghdad hit by three car bombs, forcing journalists to take cover
By BOB REID
Associated Press Writer
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Doc: 00106781 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 10:47:15 2005
Alert Categories: bom bus def frd ira kcr law mun tra trn wie
Profiler Categories: Bombs Business Crime Defense Iraq Law Media
Municipal Transportation Travel Wiesen
*** Version history. (* this story, F final, S semifinal) ***
aD8DEF7SO9 10-24-2005 10:47:15* BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack:Palestine Hotel in Ba
aD8DEFB501 10-24-2005 10:54:12 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 1st Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFDV87 10-24-2005 11:00:13 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 2nd Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFF5G3 10-24-2005 11:02:46 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 3rd Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFN9O0 10-24-2005 11:20:07 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 4th Ld-Writethru:Pal
aD8DEFVI8J 10-24-2005 11:37:45 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 5th Ld-Writethru:Pal
aD8DEG6DG4 10-24-2005 11:52:22 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 6th Ld:Bombs strike
aD8DEGBJO1 10-24-2005 12:03:27 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 7th Ld-Writethru:Bom
aD8DEGJMO1 10-24-2005 12:20:43 F BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 8th Ld-Writethru:Bom
Copyright 2005 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – The Palestine Hotel, which houses many foreign journalists in Iraq, was hit by three car bombs Monday, police and security officials said.
There was considerable damage to the hotel's windows and rooms on the south side of the 19-story building.
The Associated Press journalists had to take refuge in the hotel's corridor.
BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 1st Ld,0148
URGENT
Palestine Hotel comes under attack in Baghdad, forcing journalists to take cover
Eds: UPDATES throughout with Iraqi police saying it was a car bomb and two rockets, one injury reported; CHANGES attribution
By ROBERT H. REID
Associated Press Writer
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Doc: 00106822 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 10:54:12 2005
Alert Categories: bom bus def frd ira kcr mun tra trn wie
Profiler Categories: Bombs Business Crime Defense Iraq Media
Municipal Transportation Travel Wiesen
*** Version history. (* this story, F final, S semifinal) ***
aD8DEF7SO9 10-24-2005 10:47:15 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack:Palestine Hotel in Ba
aD8DEFB501 10-24-2005 10:54:12* BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 1st Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFDV87 10-24-2005 11:00:13 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 2nd Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFF5G3 10-24-2005 11:02:46 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 3rd Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFN9O0 10-24-2005 11:20:07 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 4th Ld-Writethru:Pal
aD8DEFVI8J 10-24-2005 11:37:45 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 5th Ld-Writethru:Pal
aD8DEG6DG4 10-24-2005 11:52:22 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 6th Ld:Bombs strike
aD8DEGBJO1 10-24-2005 12:03:27 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 7th Ld-Writethru:Bom
aD8DEGJMO1 10-24-2005 12:20:43 F BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 8th Ld-Writethru:Bom
Copyright 2005 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – Two rockets and a car bomb hit the Palestine Hotel on Monday, injuring at least one person and causing considerable damage to the building that houses many foreign journalists, Iraqi police said.
Video of the blast showed huge clouds of smoke and dust billowing from the area.
The blast shattered windows and caused heavy damage to the south side of the 19-story building, forcing journalists, including those from The Associated Press, to take refuge in the corridor.
BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 2nd Ld,0193
URGENT
Palestine Hotel comes under attack in Baghdad, forcing journalists to take cover
Eds: UPDATES throughout with more details; ADDS attribution
By ROBERT H. REID
Associated Press Writer
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Doc: 00106842 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 11:00:13 2005
Alert Categories: bom dam def ira mun tra trn wie
Profiler Categories: Bombs Damages Defense Iraq Municipal
Transportation Travel Wiesen
*** Version history. (* this story, F final, S semifinal) ***
aD8DEF7SO9 10-24-2005 10:47:15 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack:Palestine Hotel in Ba
aD8DEFB501 10-24-2005 10:54:12 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 1st Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFDV87 10-24-2005 11:00:13* BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 2nd Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFF5G3 10-24-2005 11:02:46 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 3rd Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFN9O0 10-24-2005 11:20:07 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 4th Ld-Writethru:Pal
aD8DEFVI8J 10-24-2005 11:37:45 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 5th Ld-Writethru:Pal
aD8DEG6DG4 10-24-2005 11:52:22 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 6th Ld:Bombs strike
aD8DEGBJO1 10-24-2005 12:03:27 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 7th Ld-Writethru:Bom
aD8DEGJMO1 10-24-2005 12:20:43 F BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 8th Ld-Writethru:Bom
Copyright 2005 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – Two rockets and a car bomb hit the Palestine Hotel on Monday, injuring at least one person and causing considerable damage to the building that houses many foreign journalists, Iraqi police said.
Video of the blast showed huge clouds of smoke and dust billowing. At least one fire was started by falling debris.
The attacks shattered windows and caused heavy damage to the south side of the 19-story hotel, forcing journalists, including those from The Associated Press, to take refuge in the corridor. refuge in the corridor. Inside the hotel, pictures were blown off walls and windows shattered.
Maj. Abbas Mohammed Suleiman said the hotel compound was hit by two rockets and one car bomb.
After the attack, automatic heavy weapons fire rang out in the area although it was not clear what it came from.
BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 3rd Ld,0186
URGENT
Palestine Hotel in Baghdad hit by rockets and a car bomb; two people wounded
Eds: UPDATES with another injury reported
By ROBERT H. REID
Associated Press Writer
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Doc: 00106860 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 11:02:46 2005
Alert Categories: bom dam def ira kcr mun tra trn wie
Profiler Categories: Bombs Crime Damages Defense Iraq Municipal
Transportation Travel Wiesen
*** Version history. (* this story, F final, S semifinal) ***
aD8DEF7SO9 10-24-2005 10:47:15 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack:Palestine Hotel in Ba
aD8DEFB501 10-24-2005 10:54:12 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 1st Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFDV87 10-24-2005 11:00:13 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 2nd Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFF5G3 10-24-2005 11:02:46* BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 3rd Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFN9O0 10-24-2005 11:20:07 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 4th Ld-Writethru:Pal
aD8DEFVI8J 10-24-2005 11:37:45 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 5th Ld-Writethru:Pal
aD8DEG6DG4 10-24-2005 11:52:22 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 6th Ld:Bombs strike
aD8DEGBJO1 10-24-2005 12:03:27 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 7th Ld-Writethru:Bom
aD8DEGJMO1 10-24-2005 12:20:43 F BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 8th Ld-Writethru:Bom
Copyright 2005 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – Two rockets and a car bomb hit the Palestine Hotel on Monday, wounding at least two people and causing considerable damage to the building that houses many foreign journalists, Iraqi police said.
Video of the blast showed huge clouds of smoke and dust billowing. At least one fire was started by falling debris.
The attacks shattered windows and caused heavy damage to the south side of the 19-story hotel, forcing journalists, including those from The Associated Press, to take refuge in the corridor. refuge in the corridor. Inside the hotel, pictures were blown off walls.
Maj. Abbas Mohammed Suleiman said the hotel compound was hit by two rockets and one car bomb.
After the attack, automatic heavy weapons fire rang out in the area although it was not clear what it came from.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Doc: 00106948 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 11:20:07 2005
Alert Categories: bom dam def ira kcr law tra trn wie
Profiler Categories: Bombs Crime Damages Defense Iraq Law
Transportation Travel Wiesen
*** Version history. (* this story, F final, S semifinal) ***
aD8DEF7SO9 10-24-2005 10:47:15 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack:Palestine Hotel in Ba
aD8DEFB501 10-24-2005 10:54:12 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 1st Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFDV87 10-24-2005 11:00:13 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 2nd Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFF5G3 10-24-2005 11:02:46 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 3rd Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFN9O0 10-24-2005 11:20:07* BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 4th Ld-Writethru:Pal
aD8DEFVI8J 10-24-2005 11:37:45 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 5th Ld-Writethru:Pal
aD8DEG6DG4 10-24-2005 11:52:22 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 6th Ld:Bombs strike
aD8DEGBJO1 10-24-2005 12:03:27 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 7th Ld-Writethru:Bom
aD8DEGJMO1 10-24-2005 12:20:43 F BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 8th Ld-Writethru:Bom
Copyright 2005 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 4th Ld-Writethru,0446
Palestine Hotel in Baghdad hit by rockets and a car bomb; five people wounded
Eds: UPDATES throughout with five people wounded, more details and background
By ROBERT H. REID
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – Rockets and car bombs hit the Palestine Hotel on Monday, wounding at least five people and causing considerable damage to the building that houses many foreign journalists, Iraqi police and journalists said.
Associated Press Television News pictures showed a huge explosion on the northwest side of Firdous Square, which is adjacent to the hotel. Thick clouds of smoke and dust billowed from the area, and at least one fire was started by falling debris.
Security sources said the explosions occurred two minutes apart.
Inside the hotel, light fixtures were blown down, pictures were blasted off the walls and windows were shattered.
An AP photographer at a checkpoint at the northwest corner of the hotel said at least three fellow photographers were injured and taken away by ambulance. Two TV personnel inside the hotel also sustained minor injuries.
The attacks caused heavy damage to the south side of the 19-story hotel, forcing journalists, including those from AP, Fox News and the U.S. government-funded Alhurra TV station to take refuge in the corridor. I
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.
It did not appear that the car bombers managed to penetrate the high concrete blast walls around the Palestine Hotel, which was last hit by an insurgent rocket attack on Oct. 7, 2004.
Maj. Abbas Mohammed Suleiman said the hotel compound was hit by rockets and car bombs.
APTN video taken immediately after the explosions from inside the hotel showed people evacuating through damaged hallways with panels from the ceilings and walls blown out in the stairwell. Debris from the blasts were seen on the floor of one empty room, where a television set was still turned on.
The hotel has been attacked several times since the war started in March 2003. On April 8, 2003 – the day before Saddam Hussein's regime fell – U.S. tank fire killed two TV cameramen – a Spaniard and a Ukrainian – at the hotel.
The nearby Firdous Square was the site of a statue of Saddam Hussein that was toppled as Baghdad fell to the U.S.-led coalition. Concrete barriers topped with barbed wire guard the Palestine and the nearby Sheraton, which is also home to foreigners.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Doc: 00107045 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 11:37:45 2005
Alert Categories: bom bus dam def ira kcr law mun tra trn wie
Profiler Categories: Bombs Business Crime Damages Defense Iraq
Law Municipal Transportation Travel Wiesen
*** Version history. (* this story, F final, S semifinal) ***
aD8DEF7SO9 10-24-2005 10:47:15 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack:Palestine Hotel in Ba
aD8DEFB501 10-24-2005 10:54:12 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 1st Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFDV87 10-24-2005 11:00:13 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 2nd Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFF5G3 10-24-2005 11:02:46 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 3rd Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFN9O0 10-24-2005 11:20:07 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 4th Ld-Writethru:Pal
aD8DEFVI8J 10-24-2005 11:37:45* BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 5th Ld-Writethru:Pal
aD8DEG6DG4 10-24-2005 11:52:22 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 6th Ld:Bombs strike
aD8DEGBJO1 10-24-2005 12:03:27 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 7th Ld-Writethru:Bom
aD8DEGJMO1 10-24-2005 12:20:43 F BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 8th Ld-Writethru:Bom
Copyright 2005 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 5th Ld-Writethru,0535
Palestine Hotel in Baghdad hit by car bombs; at least six people wounded and 11 reported killed
Eds: UPDATES throughout with more details about attacks, Ramadan context and truck seen coming under fire nearby before the explosion, Fox and Alhurra saying staff okay
By ROBERT H. REID
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – Two enormous bombs, including a cement-mixing truck packed with explosives, blew up outside the Palestine Hotel – home to many foreign journalists – wounding at least six people and causing considerable damage. Arab satellite television networks said 11 people were killed in the vicinity of the bombs.
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.
Iraqi security officials said the explosions occurred two minutes apart, not long before Muslims marking the Islamic holy month of Ramadan were preparing to break their day-long fast. Shortly before the explosion a truck was seen coming under fire nearby, according to APTN.
Inside the hotel, light fixtures were blown out, pictures were blasted off the walls and windows were shattered.
An AP photographer at a checkpoint at the northwest corner of the hotel said at least three fellow photographers were injured and taken away by ambulance. Two TV personnel inside the hotel also 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 attacks caused heavy damage to the south side of the 19-story hotel, forcing journalists, including those from AP, Fox News and the U.S. government-funded Alhurra TV station to take refuge in the corridor. Fox and Alhurra said their staff members were safe.
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.
It did not appear that the car bombers managed to penetrate the high concrete blast walls around the Palestine Hotel, which was last hit by an insurgent rocket attack on Oct. 7, 2004.
Maj. Abbas Mohammed Suleiman said earlier that the hotel compound was hit by rockets and car bombs.
APTN video taken immediately after the explosions from inside the hotel showed people evacuating through damaged hallways with panels from the ceilings and walls blown out in the stairwell. Debris from the blasts was seen on the floor of one empty room, where a television set was still turned on.
The hotel has been attacked several times since the war started in March 2003. On April 8, 2003 – the day before Saddam Hussein's regime fell – U.S. tank fire killed two TV cameramen – a Spaniard and a Ukrainian – at the hotel.
The nearby Firdous Square was the site of a statue of Saddam Hussein that was toppled as Baghdad fell to the U.S.-led coalition. Concrete barriers topped with barbed wire guard the Palestine and the nearby Sheraton, which is also home to foreigners.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Doc: 00107111 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 11:48:33 2005
*** Version history. (* this story, F final, S semifinal) ***
aD8DEG4K80 10-24-2005 11:48:33* BC-APNewsAlert:Iraqi police say at least 1
Copyright 2005 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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BC-APNewsAlert,0029
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – Iraqi police say at least 11 people have been killed and 13 wounded in the bombing of a hotel in Baghdad.
BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 6th Ld,0153
URGENT
Bombs strike Palestine Hotel in Baghdad and Iraqi police say 11 were killed and 13 wounded
Eds: RECASTS lead with new casualty tolls, attributed to police
AP Graphic BAGHDAD BOMBING
By ROBERT H. REID
Associated Press Writer
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Doc: 00107123 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 11:52:22 2005
Alert Categories: bom def frd ira kcr mun tra trn wie
Profiler Categories: Bombs Crime Defense Iraq Media Municipal
Transportation Travel Wiesen
*** Version history. (* this story, F final, S semifinal) ***
aD8DEF7SO9 10-24-2005 10:47:15 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack:Palestine Hotel in Ba
aD8DEFB501 10-24-2005 10:54:12 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 1st Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFDV87 10-24-2005 11:00:13 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 2nd Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFF5G3 10-24-2005 11:02:46 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 3rd Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFN9O0 10-24-2005 11:20:07 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 4th Ld-Writethru:Pal
aD8DEFVI8J 10-24-2005 11:37:45 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 5th Ld-Writethru:Pal
aD8DEG6DG4 10-24-2005 11:52:22* BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 6th Ld:Bombs strike
aD8DEGBJO1 10-24-2005 12:03:27 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 7th Ld-Writethru:Bom
aD8DEGJMO1 10-24-2005 12:20:43 F BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 8th Ld-Writethru:Bom
Copyright 2005 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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a0519‡-----
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – At least two enormous bombs, including a cement-mixing truck packed with explosives, blew up outside the Palestine Hotel – home to many foreign journalists – killing 11 people and wounding 13, Iraqi police said.
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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Doc: 00107175 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 12:03:27 2005
Alert Categories: bom dam def frd ira kcr law mun tra trn wie
Profiler Categories: Bombs Crime Damages Defense Iraq Law Media
Municipal Transportation Travel Wiesen
*** Version history. (* this story, F final, S semifinal) ***
aD8DEF7SO9 10-24-2005 10:47:15 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack:Palestine Hotel in Ba
aD8DEFB501 10-24-2005 10:54:12 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 1st Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFDV87 10-24-2005 11:00:13 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 2nd Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFF5G3 10-24-2005 11:02:46 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 3rd Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFN9O0 10-24-2005 11:20:07 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 4th Ld-Writethru:Pal
aD8DEFVI8J 10-24-2005 11:37:45 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 5th Ld-Writethru:Pal
aD8DEG6DG4 10-24-2005 11:52:22 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 6th Ld:Bombs strike
aD8DEGBJO1 10-24-2005 12:03:27* BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 7th Ld-Writethru:Bom
aD8DEGJMO1 10-24-2005 12:20:43 F BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 8th Ld-Writethru:Bom
Copyright 2005 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 7th Ld-Writethru,0689
Bombs strike near Palestine Hotel in Baghdad and Iraqi police say 11 were killed and 13 wounded
Eds: UPDATES throughout to RECAST to RAISE reference to Iraqi police checkpoint being targeted by one of the bombs and ADDS attacks appeared to be suicide bombings; RESTORES background
AP Graphic BAGHDAD BOMBING
By ROBERT H. REID
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – At least two enormous bombs, including a cement-mixing truck packed with explosives, blew up near an Iraqi police checkpoint outside the Palestine Hotel – home to many foreign journalists in Iraq. Iraqi police said 11 people were killed and 13 wounded.
A second bomb exploded inside a car not far from the checkpoint on the northeast side of Firdous Square and more than 100 yards east of the hotel grounds. Both were believed to be suicide attacks.
It did not appear that anybody was killed inside the hotel. Three of the wounded were in the hotel but were not hurt seriously. Three others were at a U.S. military checkpoint at the northwest corner of 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 as U.S. troops captured the Iraqi capital on April 9, 2003.
Iraqi security officials said the explosions occurred two minutes apart, not long before Muslims marking the Islamic holy month of Ramadan were preparing to break their day-long fast. Shortly before the explosion a truck was seen coming under fire nearby, according to APTN.
Inside the hotel, light fixtures were blown out, pictures were blasted off the walls and windows were shattered.
An AP photographer at a checkpoint at the northwest corner of the hotel said at least three fellow photographers were injured and taken away by ambulance. Three TV personnel inside the hotel also sustained minor injuries.
Police Capt. Abdul Mohammed Ghani said at least 11 people were killed and seven wounded outside the hotel. The Associated Press counted six wounded inside the hotel, which was last hit in an insurgent rocket attack on Oct. 7, 2004.
The attacks caused heavy damage to the south side of the 19-story hotel, forcing journalists, including those from AP, Fox News and the U.S. government-funded Alhurra TV station to take refuge in the corridor. Fox and Alhurra said their staff members were safe.
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.
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.
U.S. soldiers maintain a presence inside the hotel compound. After Monday's attacks, they increased their numbers on the perimeter of the five-acre compound, which also includes the Sheraton Hotel.
Maj. Abbas Mohammed Suleiman said earlier that the hotel compound was hit by rockets and car bombs.
APTN video taken immediately after the explosions from inside the hotel showed people evacuating through damaged hallways with panels from the ceilings and walls blown out in the stairwell. Debris from the blasts was seen on the floor of one empty room, where a television set was still turned on.
The hotel has been attacked several times since the war started in March 2003. On April 8, 2003 – the day before Saddam Hussein's regime fell – U.S. tank fire killed two TV cameramen – a Spaniard and a Ukrainian – at the hotel.
The nearby Firdous Square was the site of a statue of Saddam Hussein that was toppled as Baghdad fell to the U.S.-led coalition. Concrete barriers topped with barbed wire guard the Palestine and the nearby Sheraton, which is also home to foreigners.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Doc: 00107197 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 12:08:21 2005
*** Version history. (* this story, F final, S semifinal) ***
aD8DEGDT85 10-24-2005 12:08:21* BC-APNewsAlert:Iraq's assistant interior m
Copyright 2005 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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BC-APNewsAlert,0030
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – Iraq's assistant interior minister says 17 people have been killed in the blast near the Palestine Hotel.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Doc: 00107245 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 12:20:43 2005
Alert Categories: bom bus dam def frd ira kcr law mun tra trn wie
Profiler Categories: Bombs Business Crime Damages Defense Iraq
Law Media Municipal Transportation Travel
Wiesen
*** Version history. (* this story, F final, S semifinal) ***
aD8DEF7SO9 10-24-2005 10:47:15 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack:Palestine Hotel in Ba
aD8DEFB501 10-24-2005 10:54:12 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 1st Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFDV87 10-24-2005 11:00:13 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 2nd Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFF5G3 10-24-2005 11:02:46 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 3rd Ld:Palestine Hot
aD8DEFN9O0 10-24-2005 11:20:07 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 4th Ld-Writethru:Pal
aD8DEFVI8J 10-24-2005 11:37:45 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 5th Ld-Writethru:Pal
aD8DEG6DG4 10-24-2005 11:52:22 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 6th Ld:Bombs strike
aD8DEGBJO1 10-24-2005 12:03:27 BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 7th Ld-Writethru:Bom
aD8DEGJMO1 10-24-2005 12:20:43*F BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 8th Ld-Writethru:Bom
Copyright 2005 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack, 8th Ld-Writethru,0758
Bombs strike near Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, killing 17 people
Eds: UPDATES throughout with Interior Ministry saying 17 killed; Pentagon comment; ADDS photo numbers
%photo(AP Photos GB101-103, LON816-817%)
AP Graphic BAGHDAD BOMBING
By ROBERT H. REID
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – Three enormous bombs, including a cement-mixing truck packed with explosives, blew up near an Iraqi police post outside the Palestine Hotel – home to many foreign journalists in Iraq. Iraqi officials said 17 people were killed.
A second bomb exploded inside a car not far from the police position on the northeast side of Firdous Square and more than 100 yards east of the hotel grounds. Both were believed to be suicide attacks. Security officials said a third bomb struck the area around the same time.
It did not appear that anybody was killed inside the hotel, which has been the target of previous insurgent attacks. Three of the wounded were in the hotel but were not hurt seriously. Three others were at a U.S. military checkpoint at the northwest corner of 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 as U.S. troops captured the Iraqi capital on April 9, 2003.
U.S. defense officials in Baghdad and at the Pentagon were scrambling to gather information about the attack. Capt. Patricia Brewer, a military spokeswoman in Baghdad, said they could hear the blasts from their headquarters. A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Barry Venable, said the U.S. military sent in a quick reaction force to the site to assist the police.
Iraqi security officials said the explosions occurred two minutes apart, not long before Muslims marking the Islamic holy month of Ramadan were preparing to break their day-long fast. Shortly before the explosion a truck was seen coming under fire nearby, according to APTN.
Inside the hotel, light fixtures were blown out, pictures were blasted off the walls and windows were shattered.
An AP photographer at a checkpoint at the northwest corner of the hotel said at least three fellow photographers were injured and taken away by ambulance. Three TV personnel inside the hotel also sustained minor injuries.
Assistant Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Hussein Kamal said 17 people were killed, including Iraqi police and civilians.
Earlier, police Capt. Abdul Mohammed Ghani said at least seven people were wounded outside the hotel. The Associated Press counted six wounded inside the hotel, which was last hit in an insurgent rocket attack on Oct. 7, 2004.
The attacks caused heavy damage to the south side of the 19-story hotel, forcing journalists, including those from AP, Fox News and the U.S. government-funded Alhurra TV station to take refuge in the corridor. Fox and Alhurra said their staff members were safe.
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.
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.
U.S. soldiers maintain a presence inside the five-acre hotel compound, which also includes the Sheraton Hotel.
Maj. Abbas Mohammed Suleiman said earlier that the hotel compound was hit by rockets and car bombs.
APTN video taken immediately after the explosions from inside the hotel showed people evacuating through damaged hallways with panels from the ceilings and walls blown out in the stairwell. Debris from the blasts was seen on the floor of one empty room, where a television set was still turned on.
The hotel has been attacked several times since the war started in March 2003. On April 8, 2003 – the day before Saddam's regime fell – U.S. tank fire killed two TV cameramen – a Spaniard and a Ukrainian – at the hotel.
The nearby Firdous Square was the site of a statue of Saddam that was toppled as Baghdad fell to the U.S.-led coalition. Concrete barriers topped with barbed wire guard the Palestine and the nearby Sheraton, which is also home to foreigners.
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Doc: 00107321 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 12:45:07 2005
*** Version history. (* this story, F final, S semifinal) ***
aD8DEGV4O3 10-24-2005 12:45:07* BC-APNewsAlert:New Associated Press Televi
Copyright 2005 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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BC-APNewsAlert,0036
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – New Associated Press Television Network footage shows that one of three vehicle bombers had penetrated the Palestine Hotel blast walls before exploding.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Doc: 00107337 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 12:50:07 2005
Alert Categories: bom bus dam def frd ira kcr law mun tra trn wie
Profiler Categories: Bombs Business Crime Damages Defense Iraq
Law Media Municipal Transportation Travel
Wiesen
*** Version history. (* this story, F final, S semifinal) ***
aD8DEAJBO0 10-24-2005 05:30:23 BC-Iraq:Insurgents step up their attacks i
aD8DEC37G0 10-24-2005 07:12:30 BC-Iraq, 1st Ld-Writethru:Insurgents step
aD8DEDAV00 10-24-2005 08:37:16 BC-Iraq, 2nd Ld-Writethru:Insurgents step
aD8DEH1FO0 10-24-2005 12:50:07* BC-Iraq, 2nd Ld-Writethru:Huge bombs near
aD8DEH4R80 10-24-2005 12:57:17 BC-Iraq, 3rd Ld:Palestine Hotel comes unde
aD8DEHLGO3 10-24-2005 13:32:51 BC-Iraq, 5th Ld-Writethru:Palestine Hotel
aD8DEJ2RGC 10-24-2005 15:09:34 BC-Iraq, 6th Ld-Writethru:Palestine Hotel
aD8DEJG2O1 10-24-2005 15:37:47 S BC-Iraq, 7th Ld-Writethru:Palestine Hotel
aD8DELOD07 10-24-2005 18:12:04 BC-Iraq, 8th Ld-Writethru:Three bombs expl
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BC-Iraq, 2nd Ld-Writethru,1051
Huge bombs near Palestine Hotel in central Baghdad kill at least 17
Eds: UPDATES with APTN footage showing a bomber penetrated the hotel compound, Pentagon saying no U.S. casualties reported, more details; INCORPORATES BC-Iraq-Hotel Attack
%photo(AP Photos GB101-103, LON816-817%)
AP Graphic BAGHDAD BOMBING
By ROBERT H. REID
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – Three enormous bombs, including a cement-mixing truck packed with explosives, blew up near an Iraqi police post and the Palestine Hotel – home to many Western journalists. At least 17 people were killed.
A car bomb exploded near the police position on the northeast side of Firdous Square and more than 100 yards east of the hotel. Security officials said a third bomb struck the area around the same time. All three were believed to be suicide attacks.
Associated Press Television Network footage showed that one of three vehicle bombers had penetrated the concrete blast walls surrounding the hotel compound before exploding.
The cement mixer exploded in a huge ball of flame and a cloud of smoke billowing into the central Baghdad sky near Firdous Square – the site of a statue of Saddam Hussein that was toppled in April 2003 as Baghdad fell to the U.S.-led coalition.
Iraqi security officials said the explosions occurred two minutes apart, not long before Muslims marking the Islamic holy month of Ramadan were preparing to break their daylong fast. Shortly before the explosion, a truck came under fire nearby, according to APTN.
It did not appear that anybody was killed inside the hotel. Three of the wounded were in the hotel but were not hurt seriously. Three others were at a U.S. military checkpoint at the northwest corner of the hotel compound.
The Pentagon said no coalition forces were injured in the attack, which it said was carried out by rockets and car bombs near the outer walls of the Palestine and the nearby Sheraton.
Capt. Patricia Brewer, a U.S. military spokeswoman in Baghdad, said they could hear the blasts from their headquarters. A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Barry Venable, said the U.S. military sent in a quick reaction force to the site to assist the police.
Elsewhere in Baghdad, suspected insurgents opened fire at two civilian cars, killing three municipal workers and a passer-by, said police Capt. Talib Thamir amid a surge of violence over the last two days that has killed dozens.
The toll among American service members killed in the Iraq war also neared 2,000 dead, with the announcement of a Marine killed Sunday during fighting in western Iraq.
The exploding cement truck – caught in APTN footage – blew a hole in a 12-foot concrete wall that separates the hotel from the square. U.S. soldiers maintain a presence inside the five-acre hotel compound, which also includes the Sheraton Hotel.
Inside the Palestine, light fixtures were blown out, pictures were blasted off the walls and windows were shattered.
The 17 dead included Iraqi police and civilians, said Assistant Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Hussein Kamal.
An AP photographer at a checkpoint at the northwest corner of the hotel said at least three fellow photographers from other media were injured and taken away by ambulance. Three APTN personnel inside the hotel suffered minor injuries.
The AP counted six wounded inside the hotel, which was last hit in an insurgent rocket attack on Oct. 7, 2004.
The attacks caused heavy damage to the south side of the 19-story hotel, forcing journalists, including those from AP, Fox News and the U.S. government-funded Alhurra TV station to take refuge in the corridor. Fox and Alhurra said their staff members were safe.
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, which was last hit by an insurgent rocket attack on Oct. 7, 2004.
Maj. Abbas Mohammed Suleiman said earlier that the hotel compound was hit by rockets and car bombs.
APTN video taken immediately after the explosions from inside the hotel showed people evacuating through damaged hallways with panels from the ceilings and walls blown out in the stairwell. Debris from the blasts was seen on the floor of one empty room, where a television set was still turned on.
The hotel has been attacked several times since the war started in March 2003. On April 8, 2003 – the day before Saddam's regime fell – U.S. tank fire killed two TV cameramen – a Spaniard and a Ukrainian – at the hotel.
Concrete barriers topped with barbed wire guard the Palestine and the nearby Sheraton, which is also home to foreigners.
In other violence:
– The military said the Marine who was killed had been assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) and was hit by small arms fire in Ramadi. The death raised to at least 1,997 the number of members of the U.S. military who have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
– A suicide car bomber killed two Iraqis and wounded five Monday in an attack on a police patrol in the northeastern Baghdad neighborhood of Shaab, where insurgents had kidnapped and murdered a defense lawyer in Saddam's trial last week, said police Lt. Malik Sultan.
– Insurgents also opened fire on an Iraqi army checkpoint in western Baghdad, killing a soldier and a girl who was standing in front of her nearby house, said police 1st. Lt. Thaeir Mahmod.
– A drive-by shooting killed one policeman and two others were wounded by a roadside bomb, authorities said.
– Another roadside bomb exploded near a car carrying Ibrahim Zangana, a senior member of Iraq's Kurdish Democratic Party, seriously wounding him and killing one of his bodyguards, in Kirkuk, said Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qadir.
– A drive-by shooting in Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, killed a policeman.
– The corpses of the eight Iraqis – five men and three women – also were found in three different areas of Baghdad on Monday, police said. All of them apparently had been kidnapped, tied up or handcuffed, and shot to death.
BC-Iraq, 3rd Ld,0139
URGENT
Palestine Hotel comes under attack, journalists were target
Eds: LEADS with 20 dead, official saying insurgents planned to take journalists hostage.
By ROBERT H. REID
Associated Press Writer
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Doc: 00107379 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 12:57:17 2005
Alert Categories: bom bus def frd ira kcr law mun tra trn wie
Profiler Categories: Bombs Business Crime Defense Iraq Law Media
Municipal Transportation Travel Wiesen
*** Version history. (* this story, F final, S semifinal) ***
aD8DEAJBO0 10-24-2005 05:30:23 BC-Iraq:Insurgents step up their attacks i
aD8DEC37G0 10-24-2005 07:12:30 BC-Iraq, 1st Ld-Writethru:Insurgents step
aD8DEDAV00 10-24-2005 08:37:16 BC-Iraq, 2nd Ld-Writethru:Insurgents step
aD8DEH1FO0 10-24-2005 12:50:07 BC-Iraq, 2nd Ld-Writethru:Huge bombs near
aD8DEH4R80 10-24-2005 12:57:17* BC-Iraq, 3rd Ld:Palestine Hotel comes unde
aD8DEHLGO3 10-24-2005 13:32:51 BC-Iraq, 5th Ld-Writethru:Palestine Hotel
aD8DEJ2RGC 10-24-2005 15:09:34 BC-Iraq, 6th Ld-Writethru:Palestine Hotel
aD8DEJG2O1 10-24-2005 15:37:47 S BC-Iraq, 7th Ld-Writethru:Palestine Hotel
aD8DELOD07 10-24-2005 18:12:04 BC-Iraq, 8th Ld-Writethru:Three bombs expl
aD8DEM3GG5 10-24-2005 18:35:46 F BC-Iraq, 9th Ld-Writethru:Three bombs expl
Copyright 2005 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – Three massive vehicle bombs exploded Monday near the Palestine Hotel, home to many foreign journalists, killing at least 20 people. Dramatic television video showed one of the bombers driving a cement truck through the concrete blast walls that guard the hotel, then blowing up his vehicle.
Iraq's national security adviser, Mouwafak al-Rubaie, said the attack – which appeared to be well-planned – was "very clear" effort to take over the hotel and take foreign and Arab journalists as hostages.
BC-Iraq, 5th Ld-Writethru,1149
URGENT
Palestine Hotel comes under attack, journalists were target
Eds: ADDS more quotes from al-Rubaie, detail inside hotel. FIXES writethru sequence.
AP Graphic BAGHDAD BOMBING
AP Photos GB101-103, LON816-817
By ROBERT H. REID
Associated Press Writer
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Doc: 00107555 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 13:32:51 2005
Alert Categories: bom bus dam def frd ira kcr lab law mun ter tra
trn wie
Profiler Categories: Bombs Business Crime Damages Defense Iraq
Labor Law Media Municipal Terrorism
Transportation Travel Wiesen
*** Version history. (* this story, F final, S semifinal) ***
aD8DEAJBO0 10-24-2005 05:30:23 BC-Iraq:Insurgents step up their attacks i
aD8DEC37G0 10-24-2005 07:12:30 BC-Iraq, 1st Ld-Writethru:Insurgents step
aD8DEDAV00 10-24-2005 08:37:16 BC-Iraq, 2nd Ld-Writethru:Insurgents step
aD8DEH1FO0 10-24-2005 12:50:07 BC-Iraq, 2nd Ld-Writethru:Huge bombs near
aD8DEH4R80 10-24-2005 12:57:17 BC-Iraq, 3rd Ld:Palestine Hotel comes unde
aD8DEHLGO3 10-24-2005 13:32:51* BC-Iraq, 5th Ld-Writethru:Palestine Hotel
aD8DEJ2RGC 10-24-2005 15:09:34 BC-Iraq, 6th Ld-Writethru:Palestine Hotel
aD8DEJG2O1 10-24-2005 15:37:47 S BC-Iraq, 7th Ld-Writethru:Palestine Hotel
aD8DELOD07 10-24-2005 18:12:04 BC-Iraq, 8th Ld-Writethru:Three bombs expl
aD8DEM3GG5 10-24-2005 18:35:46 F BC-Iraq, 9th Ld-Writethru:Three bombs expl
Copyright 2005 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – Three massive vehicle bombs exploded Monday near the Palestine Hotel, home to many Western journalists, killing at least 20 people. Dramatic TV pictures showed one of the bombers driving a cement truck through the concrete blast walls that guard the hotel, then blowing up his vehicle.
Iraq's national security adviser, Mouwafak al-Rubaie, said the attack – which appeared well-planned – was a "very clear" effort to take over the hotel and seize journalists as hostages.
One of the car bombs exploded near the police position on the northeast side of Firdous Square, where a statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled in April 2003 shortly after the fall of Baghdad, and more than 100 yards east of the hotel. Security officials said a third bomb struck the area around the same time. All three were believed to be suicide attacks.
"Three cars came from three different roads in succession to create security breaches for terrorists," al-Rubaie told The Associated Press in a telephone interview, adding that they were armed with rocket-propelled grenades and light arms.
"The plan was very clear to us, which was to take security control over the two hotels, and to take the foreign and Arab journalists as hostages to use them as a bargain."
The U.S. military said no U.S. troops were injured. It counted 10 dead Iraqis.
The security adviser said at least 40 people were injured, most of them passers-by. Another official, Deputy Interior Minister Hussein Kamal, said four or five Iraqi police were among the dead.
APTN footage showed that one of three vehicle bombers had penetrated the concrete blast walls surrounding the hotel compound before exploding.
The cement mixer exploded in a huge ball of flame and a cloud of smoke.
Iraqi security officials said the blasts occurred two minutes apart, not long before Muslims marking the Islamic holy month of Ramadan were preparing to break their daylong fast. Shortly before the explosion, a truck came under fire nearby, according to APTN.
The attacks caused heavy damage to the south side of the 19-story Palestine Hotel, forcing journalists, including those from AP, Fox News and the U.S. government-funded Alhurra TV station to take refuge in the corridor. Fox and Alhurra said their employees were safe.
Inside, light fixtures were blown out, pictures were blasted off the walls and windows were shattered.
Moments before the second blast, journalists, photographers and technicians were walking up and down hazy corridors in a state of confusion, urging each other to remain calm, put on flak jackets, and to stay away from windows. Thicker clouds of smoke filled the far end of one hallway, with many people coughing and waving their hands.
The second explosion shook the building momentarily. Confusion and panic again set in, with those inside debating whether to exit, but all eventually deciding to stay in the corridor and sit propped against walls, most in flak jackets. Sounds resembling gunshots could be heard outside.
Strips of floorboards were strewn about and air vents were blown in.
An AP photographer at a checkpoint at the northwest corner of the hotel said at least three fellow photographers from other media were injured and taken away by ambulance. Three APTN personnel inside the hotel suffered minor injuries.
The AP counted six wounded inside the hotel, which was last hit in an insurgent rocket attack on Oct. 7, 2004.
Capt. Patricia Brewer, a U.S. military spokeswoman in Baghdad, said they could hear the blasts from their headquarters. A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Barry Venable, said the U.S. military sent in a quick reaction force to the site to assist the police.
Elsewhere in Baghdad, suspected insurgents opened fire at two civilian cars, killing three municipal workers and a passer-by, said police Capt. Talib Thamir amid a surge of violence over the last two days that has killed dozens.
The toll among American service members killed in the Iraq war also neared 2,000 dead, with the announcement of a Marine killed Sunday during fighting in western Iraq.
The exploding cement truck – caught in APTN footage – blew a hole in a 12-foot concrete wall that separates the hotel from the square. U.S. soldiers maintain a presence inside the five-acre hotel compound, which includes the Sheraton.
After the bombing, Iraqi forces opened up with heavy automatic weapons fire, apparently at random. There was no sign of a further assault on the hotel.
Maj. Abbas Mohammed Suleiman said earlier that the hotel compound was hit by rockets and car bombs.
The hotel has been attacked several times since the war started in March 2003. On April 8, 2003 – the day before Saddam's regime fell – U.S. tank fire killed two TV cameramen – a Spaniard and a Ukrainian – at the hotel.
Concrete barriers topped with barbed wire guard the Palestine and the nearby Sheraton, which is also home to foreigners.
In other violence:
– The military said the Marine who was killed had been assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) and was hit by small arms fire in Ramadi. The death raised to at least 1,997 the number of members of the U.S. military who have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
– A suicide car bomber killed two Iraqis and wounded five Monday in an attack on a police patrol in the northeastern Baghdad neighborhood of Shaab, where insurgents had kidnapped and murdered a defense lawyer in Saddam's trial last week, said police Lt. Malik Sultan.
– Insurgents also opened fire on an Iraqi army checkpoint in western Baghdad, killing a soldier and a girl who was standing in front of her nearby house, said police 1st. Lt. Thaeir Mahmod.
– A drive-by shooting killed one policeman and two others were wounded by a roadside bomb, authorities said.
– Another roadside bomb exploded near a car carrying Ibrahim Zangana, a senior member of Iraq's Kurdish Democratic Party, seriously wounding him and killing one of his bodyguards, in Kirkuk, said Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qadir.
– A drive-by shooting in Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, killed a policeman.
– The corpses of the eight Iraqis – five men and three women – also were found in three different areas of Baghdad on Monday, police said. All of them apparently had been kidnapped, tied up or handcuffed, and shot to death.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Doc: 00108000 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 15:09:34 2005
Alert Categories: bom bus dam def frd ira kcr lab law mun ter tra
trn wie
Profiler Categories: Bombs Business Crime Damages Defense Iraq
Labor Law Media Municipal Terrorism
Transportation Travel Wiesen
*** Version history. (* this story, F final, S semifinal) ***
aD8DEAJBO0 10-24-2005 05:30:23 BC-Iraq:Insurgents step up their attacks i
aD8DEC37G0 10-24-2005 07:12:30 BC-Iraq, 1st Ld-Writethru:Insurgents step
aD8DEDAV00 10-24-2005 08:37:16 BC-Iraq, 2nd Ld-Writethru:Insurgents step
aD8DEH1FO0 10-24-2005 12:50:07 BC-Iraq, 2nd Ld-Writethru:Huge bombs near
aD8DEH4R80 10-24-2005 12:57:17 BC-Iraq, 3rd Ld:Palestine Hotel comes unde
aD8DEHLGO3 10-24-2005 13:32:51 BC-Iraq, 5th Ld-Writethru:Palestine Hotel
aD8DEJ2RGC 10-24-2005 15:09:34* BC-Iraq, 6th Ld-Writethru:Palestine Hotel
aD8DEJG2O1 10-24-2005 15:37:47 S BC-Iraq, 7th Ld-Writethru:Palestine Hotel
aD8DELOD07 10-24-2005 18:12:04 BC-Iraq, 8th Ld-Writethru:Three bombs expl
aD8DEM3GG5 10-24-2005 18:35:46 F BC-Iraq, 9th Ld-Writethru:Three bombs expl
Copyright 2005 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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BC-Iraq, 6th Ld-Writethru,1191
Palestine Hotel comes under attack, journalists were target
Eds: UPDATES with U.S. Bradley Fighting Vehicle destroyed in blast in new graf 7; ADDS contributor's note; minor edits throughout
%photo(AP Photos GB101-103, LON816-817%)
AP Graphic BAGHDAD BOMBING
By ROBERT H. REID
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – Three massive vehicle bombs exploded Monday near the Palestine Hotel, home to many Western journalists, killing at least 20 people. Dramatic TV pictures showed one of the bombers driving a cement truck through the concrete blast walls that guard the hotel, then blowing up his vehicle.
Iraq's national security adviser, Mouwafak al-Rubaie, said the attack – which appeared well-planned – was a "very clear" effort to take over the hotel and seize journalists as hostages.
One of the car bombs exploded near the police position on the northeast side of Firdous Square, where a statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled in April 2003 shortly after the fall of Baghdad, and more than 100 yards east of the hotel. Security officials said a third bomb struck the area around the same time. All three were believed to be suicide attacks.
"Three cars came from three different roads in succession to create security breaches for terrorists," al-Rubaie told The Associated Press in a telephone interview, adding that they were armed with rocket-propelled grenades and light arms.
"The plan was very clear to us, which was to take security control over the two hotels, and to take the foreign and Arab journalists as hostages to use them as a bargain."
The U.S. military said no U.S. troops were injured. It counted 10 dead Iraqis.
A U.S. Bradley Fighting Vehicle parked inside the compound was destroyed in the blast. No one was inside at the time.
The security adviser said at least 40 people were injured, most of them passers-by. Another official, Deputy Interior Minister Hussein Kamal, said four or five Iraqi police were among the dead.
APTN footage showed that one of three vehicle bombers had penetrated the concrete blast walls surrounding the hotel compound before exploding.
The cement mixer exploded in a huge ball of flame and a cloud of smoke.
Iraqi security officials said the blasts occurred two minutes apart, not long before Muslims marking the Islamic holy month of Ramadan were preparing to break their daylong fast. Shortly before the explosion, a truck came under fire nearby, according to APTN.
The attacks caused heavy damage to the south side of the 18-story Palestine Hotel, forcing journalists, including those from AP, Fox News and the U.S. government-funded Alhurra TV station to take refuge in the corridor. Fox and Alhurra said their employees were safe.
An AP photographer at a checkpoint at the northwest corner of the hotel said at least three fellow photographers from other media were injured and taken away by ambulance. Three APTN personnel inside the hotel suffered minor injuries.
The AP counted six wounded inside the hotel, which was last hit in an insurgent rocket attack on Oct. 7, 2004.
Inside the hotel, light fixtures were blown out, pictures were blasted off the walls and windows were shattered.
Moments before the second blast, journalists, photographers and technicians were walking up and down hazy corridors in a state of confusion, urging each other to remain calm, put on flak jackets, and to stay away from windows. Thicker clouds of smoke filled the far end of one hallway, with many people coughing and waving their hands.
The second explosion shook the building momentarily. Confusion and panic again set in, with those inside debating whether to exit, but all eventually deciding to stay in the corridor and sit propped against walls, most in flak jackets. Sounds resembling gunshots could be heard outside.
Strips of floorboards were strewn about and air vents were blown in.
Capt. Patricia Brewer, a U.S. military spokeswoman in Baghdad, said they could hear the blasts from their headquarters. A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Barry Venable, said the U.S. military sent in a quick reaction force to the site to assist the police.
Elsewhere in Baghdad, suspected insurgents opened fire at two civilian cars, killing three municipal workers and a passer-by, said police Capt. Talib Thamir amid a surge of violence over the last two days that has killed dozens.
The toll among American service members killed in the Iraq war also neared 2,000 dead, with the announcement of a Marine killed Sunday during fighting in western Iraq.
The exploding cement truck – caught in APTN footage – blew a hole in a 12-foot concrete wall that separates the hotel from the square. U.S. soldiers maintain a presence inside the five-acre hotel compound, which includes the Sheraton.
After the bombing, Iraqi forces opened up with heavy automatic weapons fire, apparently at random. There was no sign of a further assault on the hotel.
Maj. Abbas Mohammed Suleiman said earlier that the hotel compound was hit by rockets and car bombs.
The hotel has been attacked several times since the war started in March 2003. On April 8, 2003 – the day before Saddam's regime fell – U.S. tank fire killed two TV cameramen – a Spaniard and a Ukrainian – at the hotel.
Concrete barriers topped with barbed wire guard the Palestine and the nearby Sheraton, which is also home to foreigners.
In other violence:
– The military said the Marine who was killed had been assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) and was hit by small arms fire in Ramadi. The death raised to at least 1,997 the number of members of the U.S. military who have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
– A suicide car bomber killed two Iraqis and wounded five Monday in an attack on a police patrol in the northeastern Baghdad neighborhood of Shaab, where insurgents had kidnapped and murdered a defense lawyer in Saddam's trial last week, said police Lt. Malik Sultan.
– Insurgents also opened fire on an Iraqi army checkpoint in western Baghdad, killing a soldier and a girl who was standing in front of her nearby house, said police 1st. Lt. Thaeir Mahmod.
– A drive-by shooting killed one policeman and two others were wounded by a roadside bomb, authorities said.
– Another roadside bomb exploded near a car carrying Ibrahim Zangana, a senior member of Iraq's Kurdish Democratic Party, seriously wounding him and killing one of his bodyguards, in Kirkuk, said Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qadir.
– A drive-by shooting in Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, killed a policeman.
– The corpses of the eight Iraqis – five men and three women – also were found in three different areas of Baghdad on Monday, police said. All of them apparently had been kidnapped, tied up or handcuffed, and shot to death.
––––
Associated Press reporters Thomas Wagner and Mariam Fam contributed to this report.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Doc: 00108033 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 15:17:42 2005
Alert Categories: bom def frd ira law mun ter tra trn wie
Profiler Categories: Bombs Defense Iraq Law Media Municipal
Terrorism Transportation Travel Wiesen
*** Version history. (* this story, F final, S semifinal) ***
aD8DEJ6LG0 10-24-2005 15:17:42*F BC-Iraq-Hotels:Palestine and Sheraton hote
Copyright 2005 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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BC-Iraq-Hotels,0363
Palestine and Sheraton hotels were world's wartime windows on Baghdad
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – The Palestine and Sheraton hotels were the world's windows on Baghdad during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Television reporters stood on rooftops of the side-by-side hotels for their live shots, using a nearby blue-domed mosque in Firdous Square as a backdrop. Photographers took pictures of smoldering palaces from the hotels' upper floors.
And Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf gained international fame for his absurd claims of Iraqi military victories – all delivered from a Palestine Hotel banquet room.
The Palestine was shelled on April 8, 2003, by a U.S. tank from across the Tigris River. Soldiers said they believed hostile forces were using a balcony to direct fire, and fired a 120mm tank round that killed two cameramen. A U.S. military investigation concluded that the attack was justified.
A day later, Marines moved into the hotel, taking rooms alongside journalists and stationing tanks and stringing razor wire on neighboring streets. At that point, Iraqis crowded around the barricades every day, marching through the square to air their complaints at their new rulers, the twin hotels symbols of the occupation.
When the Army took over for the Marines in Baghdad, they vacated the hotel rooms but maintained guard on surrounding streets.
Security was intensified after terrorist attacks intensified in Baghdad, and later, security walls were added around the compound in an effort to keep out car bombs.
The 18-floor Palestine sports a bizarre facade, with an octagonal concrete design shielding each balcony. With a fading 1970s decor, it has fallen into disrepair since it was built in 1982 as a part of the French Meridien chain. Saddam Hussein's government took over management of the hotel in 1989 before the war.
The Sheraton, built in the early 1980s, also was appropriated from the international chain. That 19-story structure features glass elevators and a giant circular swimming pool, but it has been almost entirely vacant in recent months.
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Doc: 00108124 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 15:37:47 2005
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aD8DEAJBO0 10-24-2005 05:30:23 BC-Iraq:Insurgents step up their attacks i
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aD8DEDAV00 10-24-2005 08:37:16 BC-Iraq, 2nd Ld-Writethru:Insurgents step
aD8DEH1FO0 10-24-2005 12:50:07 BC-Iraq, 2nd Ld-Writethru:Huge bombs near
aD8DEH4R80 10-24-2005 12:57:17 BC-Iraq, 3rd Ld:Palestine Hotel comes unde
aD8DEHLGO3 10-24-2005 13:32:51 BC-Iraq, 5th Ld-Writethru:Palestine Hotel
aD8DEJ2RGC 10-24-2005 15:09:34 BC-Iraq, 6th Ld-Writethru:Palestine Hotel
aD8DEJG2O1 10-24-2005 15:37:47*S BC-Iraq, 7th Ld-Writethru:Palestine Hotel
aD8DELOD07 10-24-2005 18:12:04 BC-Iraq, 8th Ld-Writethru:Three bombs expl
aD8DEM3GG5 10-24-2005 18:35:46 F BC-Iraq, 9th Ld-Writethru:Three bombs expl
Copyright 2005 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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Palestine Hotel comes under attack, journalists were target
Eds: SUBS 13th graf `An AP ... ' to CLARIFY number of journalists injured
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AP Graphic BAGHDAD BOMBING
By ROBERT H. REID
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – Three massive vehicle bombs exploded Monday near the Palestine Hotel, home to many Western journalists, killing at least 20 people. Dramatic TV pictures showed one of the bombers driving a cement truck through the concrete blast walls that guard the hotel, then blowing up his vehicle.
Iraq's national security adviser, Mouwafak al-Rubaie, said the attack – which appeared well-planned – was a "very clear" effort to take over the hotel and seize journalists as hostages.
One of the car bombs exploded near the police position on the northeast side of Firdous Square, where a statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled in April 2003 shortly after the fall of Baghdad, and more than 100 yards east of the hotel. Security officials said a third bomb struck the area around the same time. All three were believed to be suicide attacks.
"Three cars came from three different roads in succession to create security breaches for terrorists," al-Rubaie told The Associated Press in a telephone interview, adding that they were armed with rocket-propelled grenades and light arms.
"The plan was very clear to us, which was to take security control over the two hotels, and to take the foreign and Arab journalists as hostages to use them as a bargain."
The U.S. military said no U.S. troops were injured. It counted 10 dead Iraqis.
A U.S. Bradley Fighting Vehicle parked inside the compound was destroyed in the blast. No one was inside at the time.
The security adviser said at least 40 people were injured, most of them passers-by. Another official, Deputy Interior Minister Hussein Kamal, said four or five Iraqi police were among the dead.
APTN footage showed that one of three vehicle bombers had penetrated the concrete blast walls surrounding the hotel compound before exploding.
The cement mixer exploded in a huge ball of flame and a cloud of smoke.
Iraqi security officials said the blasts occurred two minutes apart, not long before Muslims marking the Islamic holy month of Ramadan were preparing to break their daylong fast. Shortly before the explosion, a truck came under fire nearby, according to APTN.
The attacks caused heavy damage to the south side of the 18-story Palestine Hotel, forcing journalists, including those from AP, Fox News and the U.S. government-funded Alhurra TV station to take refuge in the corridor. Fox and Alhurra said their employees were safe.
An AP photographer at a checkpoint at the northwest corner of the hotel said at least three photographers from other media outside the hotel were injured and taken away by ambulance. Two AP employees and three other journalists inside the hotel suffered minor injuries.
The AP counted six wounded inside the hotel, which was last hit in an insurgent rocket attack on Oct. 7, 2004.
Inside the hotel, light fixtures were blown out, pictures were blasted off the walls and windows were shattered.
Moments before the second blast, journalists, photographers and technicians were walking up and down hazy corridors in a state of confusion, urging each other to remain calm, put on flak jackets, and to stay away from windows. Thicker clouds of smoke filled the far end of one hallway, with many people coughing and waving their hands.
The second explosion shook the building momentarily. Confusion and panic again set in, with those inside debating whether to exit, but all eventually deciding to stay in the corridor and sit propped against walls, most in flak jackets. Sounds resembling gunshots could be heard outside.
Strips of floorboards were strewn about and air vents were blown in.
Capt. Patricia Brewer, a U.S. military spokeswoman in Baghdad, said they could hear the blasts from their headquarters. A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Barry Venable, said the U.S. military sent in a quick reaction force to the site to assist the police.
Elsewhere in Baghdad, suspected insurgents opened fire at two civilian cars, killing three municipal workers and a passer-by, said police Capt. Talib Thamir amid a surge of violence over the last two days that has killed dozens.
The toll among American service members killed in the Iraq war also neared 2,000 dead, with the announcement of a Marine killed Sunday during fighting in western Iraq.
The exploding cement truck – caught in APTN footage – blew a hole in a 12-foot concrete wall that separates the hotel from the square. U.S. soldiers maintain a presence inside the five-acre hotel compound, which includes the Sheraton.
After the bombing, Iraqi forces opened up with heavy automatic weapons fire, apparently at random. There was no sign of a further assault on the hotel.
Maj. Abbas Mohammed Suleiman said earlier that the hotel compound was hit by rockets and car bombs.
The hotel has been attacked several times since the war started in March 2003. On April 8, 2003 – the day before Saddam's regime fell – U.S. tank fire killed two TV cameramen – a Spaniard and a Ukrainian – at the hotel.
Concrete barriers topped with barbed wire guard the Palestine and the nearby Sheraton, which is also home to foreigners.
In other violence:
– The military said the Marine who was killed had been assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) and was hit by small arms fire in Ramadi. The death raised to at least 1,997 the number of members of the U.S. military who have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
– A suicide car bomber killed two Iraqis and wounded five Monday in an attack on a police patrol in the northeastern Baghdad neighborhood of Shaab, where insurgents had kidnapped and murdered a defense lawyer in Saddam's trial last week, said police Lt. Malik Sultan.
– Insurgents also opened fire on an Iraqi army checkpoint in western Baghdad, killing a soldier and a girl who was standing in front of her nearby house, said police 1st. Lt. Thaeir Mahmod.
– A drive-by shooting killed one policeman and two others were wounded by a roadside bomb, authorities said.
– Another roadside bomb exploded near a car carrying Ibrahim Zangana, a senior member of Iraq's Kurdish Democratic Party, seriously wounding him and killing one of his bodyguards, in Kirkuk, said Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qadir.
– A drive-by shooting in Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, killed a policeman.
– The corpses of the eight Iraqis – five men and three women – also were found in three different areas of Baghdad on Monday, police said. All of them apparently had been kidnapped, tied up or handcuffed, and shot to death.
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Associated Press reporters Thomas Wagner and Mariam Fam contributed to this report.
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Doc: 00108343 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 16:20:36 2005
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aD8DEK4501 10-24-2005 16:20:36*F BC-Iraq Attack Timeline:A timeline of the
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A timeline of the bombing attack on the Palestine Hotel
By The Associated Press
Here is the sequence of events as captured on still photographs taken Monday by a security camera of three suicide bomb attacks on the Palestine Hotel.
– 5:21 p.m. A white car stops on the traffic circle just outside the concrete blast wall that protects the hotel compound. The car explodes in a huge yellow flash. As the smoke clears, a wide section of the wall is blown open.
– 5:23 p.m. There is a second car bomb explosion on the other side of the traffic circle to the left of the 14th Ramadan mosque. The Ministry of Agriculture also is about 100 yards from the explosion.
– 5:24 p.m. A cement truck drives through the void in the concrete wall and down a road that runs between the Palestine Hotel and the Sheraton hotel, also inside the walled compound. The truck moves about 20 feet toward the hotels, when it appears to become stuck. It moves backward and forward several times, seemingly trying to get free. The truck is fired on by a U.S. soldier inside the compound.
– 5:25 p.m. The cement truck explodes in a huge ball of fire.
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Doc: 00108941 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 18:11:26 2005
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First day back, bombs greet AP chief in Baghdad
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By ROBERT H. REID
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – I was seated at a computer terminal when the first blast occurred, a thunderous explosion, clearly very close, followed by a volley of automatic fire. My first thought was a car bomb or perhaps a large rocket. I knew it was close. Someone shouted that the nearby Sheraton Hotel had been hit. I looked at my watch. It was 5:21 p.m.
Moments later a second explosion – loud but more distant. More gunfire. We decided to leave our work room inside the Palestine Hotel for the relative safety of the hall, protected by internal walls.
Suddenly, at 5:24 p.m., a huge blast rocked the building with a force so intense that we could feel the shock wave. The hallway filled with billowing brown smoke. I thought the hotel had been hit by a missile.
"Everybody put on helmets and body armor," a security adviser shouted.
No one hesitated. We opened the store room door to find the area wrecked. The blast had ripped the sliding glass doors leading to a balcony from their hinges. It was the same in my bedroom. The glass doors were in pieces and bits of metal were scattered around the room. My suitcase was still on the bed, unscathed where I'd put it down just several hours before.
"I'm glad I didn't unpack," I thought.
Bewildered staffers milled about. Some headed for the fire escape door. Some glanced about nervously, panting for breath in the dust. Conversations were at a shout.
"Stay on the floor, stay on the floor," shouted a security adviser. "You're safer here."
We quickly did a head count to determine that no one had been killed or seriously injured.
Three television cameramen stumbled down the hall, holding their heads as blood spilled from their wounds. A security adviser dressed their injuries and once the shooting stopped, escorted them downstairs to a waiting car to drive them to a nearby hospital.
I called the Associated Press's regional headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, to report that we were under attack.
One of our drivers, who had left for home at day's end, telephoned the office. He had seen the attack from the street.
"Three vehicles passed by in high speed toward Firdous Square," he said. "They struck the concrete barriers between the two hotels and exploded. It was the biggest explosion I have ever seen."
It was too dangerous to go outside or even peer out the windows. Security advisers moved up and down the halls, shouting for people to stay away from windows and balconies since there was so much gunfire outside. But security cameras told the story: three explosions within four minutes, right in the square where I had driven just hours before.
It had all seemed so normal – then.
The sky had been blue, the temperature warm and the streets filled with traffic as I returned Monday to Baghdad after a six-week absence. "How's the situation," I asked my colleague as we drove from the airport to the Palestine. His reply: "It seems to be calming down."
That ended three hours later with the three thunderous explosions, one of which breached the walls protecting the Palestine, home to AP, Fox News, the U.S. government-funded Alhurra TV station, and other international news organizations.
It was not the first attack against the compound, which also includes the Sheraton. But it was clearly the strongest and most determined.
I had slept through one attack when insurgents fired rockets at the hotel on Nov. 21, 2003, from donkey carts.
There would have been no sleeping through this one. It was a well-coordinated assault using three car bombs, one that broke through the high security walls protecting the hotels, and a second on the far side of Firdous Square to divert attention as the third – a cement truck packed with explosives – plowed through the hole from the first blast, exploding inside the compound where we had felt relatively safe.
The attack demonstrated one of the truths of Iraq's war: Appearances can deceive.
By all appearances, Baghdad did seem calmer than I had left it in early September. The road from the airport was crowded with traffic – ordinarily a sure sign that Iraqis themselves are not fearful of attacks. I commented about the extra security – Iraqi military checkpoints, roving American patrols, some added around the referendum on the constitution Oct. 15.
As we approached the hotel, I noticed more pedestrians than I had remembered – veiled mothers with children shopping at outdoor food stalls and men whiling away the hours at sidewalk tea stands under a warm afternoon sun.
Also more reassuring were the Iraqi police, directing traffic and manning checkpoints. As we entered Firdous Square behind our hotel, I could see armed Iraqi police – uniforms crisp and clean and weapons at the ready.
The only sign of a capital in crisis were the long lines at gasoline stations – ironic in one of the world's great oil-producing countries.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Robert H. Reid, AP correspondent at large, has reported frequently from Iraq since 2003.
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Doc: 00108981 DB: research–d–2005–4 Date: Mon Oct 24 18:24:23 2005
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aD8DEISIG0 10-24-2005 14:56:10 BC-Iraq-Attacks Glance:Attacks on the Pale
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Attacks on the Palestine and Sheraton hotels in Baghdad
Eds: UPDATES with additional attacks on the hotels.
By The Associated Press
Attacks on the Palestine and Sheraton hotels in Baghdad since the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
–Oct. 24, 2005: Three massive vehicle bombs exploded near the Palestine, killing at least 20 people.
–Oct. 7, 2004: Militants hit the Sheraton with three rockets fired from the back of a vehicle, shattering windows and filling the lobby with debris.
–Aug. 28, 2004: A volley of mortar rounds fell near the Palestine Hotel, but caused no casualties.
–Aug. 5, 2004: A rocket fired by insurgents hits outside a restaurant at the Palestine Hotel, leaving a small crater and shattering windows.
–April 9, 2004: A mortar hit a concrete shed in the compound surrounding the Sheraton and the Palestine.
–March 23, 2004: A rocket slammed into the roof of a sixth-floor banquet room at the Sheraton Hotel. The lobby was strewn with glass.
–Dec. 24, 2003: A guerrilla fired a mortar shell at one of the upper 24, 2005: Three massive vehicle bombs exploded near the floors of the Sheraton, rattling windows for blocks. Hours later, insurgents fired more shells that shattered windows at the same hotel on Christmas morning.
–Nov. 21, 2003: Militants fired rockets from donkey carts into Iraq's Oil Ministry and the Palestine and Sheraton hotels, wounding at least one man.
–April 8, 2003: A U.S. tank shell hit the Palestine, where hundreds of journalists were staying, and a U.S. bomb landed on the office of an Arab television network in the Iraqi capital, killing two journalists and wounding three others.