Hopefully our boys are ok.
Update:
BAGHDAD (AP)--A large explosion destroyed a hotel in central Baghdad on
Wednesday night, killing up to 10 people, Iraqi police said.
A U.S. soldier at the scene said the damage was consistent with that of a car
bomb.
Rescuers pulled bodies from the rubble of the five-story Hotel Jabal Lebanon.
The explosion left a huge crater. Five smaller, adjacent buildings were badly
damaged.
Flames shot skyward, and heavy smoke rose behind a central square from the
area of the blast. Trees were on fire, and flames jumped to nearby buildings.
Eight cars were on fire, and one vehicle was hurled by the blast into a store.
An Iraqi police officer at the scene said as many as 10 people died, and he
said the toll could be higher.
Dozens of U.S. soldiers in Humvees and Bradley fighting vehicles arrived and
started to clear crowds.
Earlier, ambulances raced to the scene. Two U.S. soldiers tried to help pull
bodies from the wreckage of the hotel, but angry Iraqis pushed them back.
The blast shook the nearby Palestine Hotel, where many foreign contractors and
journalists are based.
The explosion occurred behind Firdaus Square, where a bronze statue of Saddam
Hussein was toppled April 9 with the help of U.S. Marines who had just entered
the center of the Iraqi capital.
The area of the blast, Karrada, is a mix of residential and commercial
buildings.
Update:
BAGHDAD (AP)--A large explosion destroyed a hotel in central Baghdad on
Wednesday night, killing up to 10 people, Iraqi police said.
A U.S. soldier at the scene said the damage was consistent with that of a car
bomb.
Rescuers pulled bodies from the rubble of the five-story Hotel Jabal Lebanon.
The explosion left a huge crater. Five smaller, adjacent buildings were badly
damaged.
Flames shot skyward, and heavy smoke rose behind a central square from the
area of the blast. Trees were on fire, and flames jumped to nearby buildings.
Eight cars were on fire, and one vehicle was hurled by the blast into a store.
An Iraqi police officer at the scene said as many as 10 people died, and he
said the toll could be higher.
Dozens of U.S. soldiers in Humvees and Bradley fighting vehicles arrived and
started to clear crowds.
Earlier, ambulances raced to the scene. Two U.S. soldiers tried to help pull
bodies from the wreckage of the hotel, but angry Iraqis pushed them back.
The blast shook the nearby Palestine Hotel, where many foreign contractors and
journalists are based.
The explosion occurred behind Firdaus Square, where a bronze statue of Saddam
Hussein was toppled April 9 with the help of U.S. Marines who had just entered
the center of the Iraqi capital.
The area of the blast, Karrada, is a mix of residential and commercial
buildings.
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