Ten killed in car bombs at two Baghdad hotels
Car bombs exploded Thursday near two Baghdad hotels, killing at least ten people.
BAGHDAD (AFP) - Car bombs exploded Thursday near two of Baghdad s most high-profile hotels, killing at least ten people, police said.
The explosions occurred just before midnight (2100 GMT) and were heard across the city centre. According to police and an interior ministry source, at least 30 people were also wounded.
The first explosion went off near the Babylon hotel, a swanky and recently refurbished hotel overlooking the Tigris river.
The second car bomb exploded a few minutes later in an area close to the Ishtar -- another recently renovated hotel that is still often referred to as the Sheraton -- and a popular club which is usually crowded at that time on a Thursday.
The Palestine hotel -- which has been hit by various deadly attacks over the years -- is also close to the site of the second blast.
Police said security forces found another car bomb in the Babylon hotel car park and were attempting to defuse it.
A years-old midnight curfew was lifted in February after Iraqi forces retook areas around Baghdad from the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group and a huge car bomb-making cell was dismantled.
Attacks have continued since but are less frequent than the previous year.
IS, which is still battling government forces barely 30 kilometres (18 miles) west of the capital, has claimed many of the biggest attacks in Baghdad and elsewhere in the country.
