Palestine Hotel in Baghdad under attack (3 car bombs)

[IndianaGreen]

Now breaking CNN. That's the hotel were journalists stay.

3 car bombs!

[IndianaGreen]

1. CNN's Nic Robertson reporting casualties

Live on CNN

There is another hotel involved, all of which have foreign journalists staying in them.

[Karenina]

52. Such an invitation to GET THE HELL OUT!

Wonder who issued it.

[Botany]

2. Quick declare victory and get the hell out.

What a nightmare.

[IndianaGreen]

8. Ironic that we are on the eve of the Plamegate indictments

which deal with the lies the Bush regime told to get us into this war.

[htuttle]

3. Well, I guess if the 'hotel journalists' won't go out to cover the war...

...the war will come to the hotel journalists...

[IndianaGreen]

6. No shit!

I don't see how Bush will spin this out, but the American journalists were too eager to repeat the crap they were briefed by the military rather than reporting the truth about this war.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

57. Could these bombings...

...be intended to scare journalists out of Iraq? How do we discern between insurgent car bombings and those perpetrated by the Brits or our own U.S. forces?

[uncertainty1999]

94. Amy Goodman on "Democracy Now" said..

...that many unembedded independent reporters stay at that hotel

[DeepModem Mom]

4. Oh, my dear God -- a huge explosion -- just saw it on CNN.

[Fridays Child]

53. Holy shit! Did you see that, too?

That was huge!

[UpInArms]

5. here's a link - but not much info

http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?catid=138&newsid=74976&ch=0&datte=2005-10-24

Baghdad. Two powerful explosions rocked central Baghdad Monday, AFP reported citing witnesses. The explosions blasted near a hotel, where foreign journalists stayed.

[mike_c]

7. would that be the foreign stenographers...?

eom

[shadowknows69]

10. just saw it

huge explosion. makin progress screamed the AWOL cowboy. freedom on the march. somehow I think we'll be passing the 2000 mark soon. damn you to hell bush.

[whatever4]

22. to hell and gone. Amen nm

[Kralizec]

9. This smells like Negr*p*nte.

:scared:

[IndianaGreen]

11. Chimp is now on TV talking about his handling of Wilma

His timing is impeccable as always!

[Kralizec]

14. Just like clockwork, eh? yeah, a clockwork orange maybe. (eom)

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

40. Excuse me?

Completely contradicting everything that Bush has ever said about the insurgency and creating the impression that the insurgency operates with impunity smells like Negroponte? How?

[MADem]

50. I imagine the reference relates to the fellah's penchant for

messing with the internal affairs of other nations. He cut quite a swathe south of our border....

[Kralizec]

59. Ahh, the wise guy again. n/t

[Zhade]

84. Wise?

Odd choice of words.

[OhioChick]

12. I just saw that on CNN

Those were some enormous explosions. :scared:

[IndianaGreen]

16. Faux is playing their video too

perhaps their journalists were in the hotel when the car bombs went off.

[populistdriven]

13. why attack journalists? (link)

because its a softer target?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/iraq_hotel_attack

[htuttle]

15. It's where the cameras are

[ozarkvet]

63. Bingo

Reminds me of the bank robber some reporter asked, "Why you rob banks?" A: "Because that's where the money is."

It's a publicity stunt for the cameras.

The war is won not in the battlefield but on TV.

[DoYouEverWonder]

17. What better way to get people's attention?

Since the journalists are mostly ignoring what is going on around them, sometimes you have to bring the war to them.

[endarkenment]

19. They are attacking the foreign occupiers of their country.

The Green Zone, with its 12 foot concrete wall, multiple checkpoints, huge security force, etc, is untouchable. So they go after the softer targets, which would be any army convoy and any hotel housing foreigners outside the zone.

If we got out and stopped killing them at a 10-1 ratio they would most likely stop killing us.

[Kralizec]

20. Negr*p*nte would attack journalists because

he doesn't want the Press, or the world for that matter, to see what the U.S. is doing in Iraq right now. Already very few journalists leave the hotel. Something tells me that this attack just happened to get some of the few who were still reporting from the real part of the city.

Now, to all surviving journalists: Don't even think about going outside anymore. Your only true safety is leaving...

edit: typo

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

41. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

If he didn't want the press to see anything, he wouldn't BLOW UP THEIR FUCKING HOTEL.

[Kralizec]

58. Ok, wise guy. n/t

[spindrifter]

27. It's also where many

foreign contractors stay.

[Henny Penny]

85. yep. easier to attack the journos than the "insurgents"!

[IndianaGreen]

18. Reuters: Baghdad blasts rock journalists' hotels

Baghdad blasts rock journalists' hotels

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three car bombs on Monday rocked central Baghdad, including two hotels used by international media and foreign contractors, police said.

There was no immediate indication of casualties.

The blasts, shortly after the ritual evening breaking of the Ramadan fast, blew out windows and damaged buildings.

The explosions scattered shrapnel and debris over a wide area beyond the high-rise concrete towers of the Sheraton and Palestine hotels, Reuters correspondents on the scene said.

Reuters

[IChing]

21. 725,000 lbs of high plastic explosives went missing at one Iraqi site.

or 350 metric tons

That were never secured by coalition troops after "mission accomplished"

Why does the MSM never follow up on that story.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3950493.stm

LESS THAN A POUND of the high explosive known as HMX was enough to destroy a Pan Am jumbo jet over Scotland in 1988 in one of the worst terrorist attacks against Americans before Sept. 11, 2001. So it can only be dismaying to learn that nearly 215 tons of the substance -- enough for hundreds of thousands of such bombs -- disappeared from an Iraqi weapons facility sometime after March 2003, when it was last seen by international inspectors. An additional 162 tons of the explosives RDX and PETN also are missing, according to a report to the International Atomic Energy Agency this month by the Iraqi Ministry of Science and Technology, which blamed a "lack of security" for the loss.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3936-2004Oct27.html

[IndianaGreen]

25. That's a great find, IChing

Another feather in Bush's cap! I wonder what else are they missing that they are too afraid to tell us about.

[IChing]

29. This was mention in the Kerry campaign but

the msm never followed up and then said foreigners are supplying the explosives

when it came from Iraq.

[IChing]

47. Thanks, this is a photo of today's blast probably one oz.of the explosive

[leftchick]

54. that will make a lot of bombs....

into infinity I would imagine... :(

[IndianaGreen]

86. Add to that the theft ring in which stolen SUVs were moved from the US

to Iraq to be used as car bombs.

[IChing]

90. That was from only one ammo dump we overran and didn't secure.

I think there were at least three others.

AND "THAT DID MAKE AND WILL MAKE A LOT OF BOMBS"

[leftchick]

91. don't forget the nuke site too

God only knows what horrible shit was carted away.

:(

[IndianaGreen]

23. CNN: Three car bombs rock downtown Baghdad

Three car bombs rock downtown Baghdad

Monday, October 24, 2005; Posted: 11:04 a.m. EDT (15:04 GMT)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Three car bombs exploded Monday in Baghdad, not far from a hotel that is home to international journalists, according to Iraqi police.

The third blast was larger than the initial explosions and apparently was designed to hurt police and rescue crews.

At least one fire could be seen burning in the area, and the flash from the explosion could be seen more than a mile away, CNN's Nic Robertson said.

The bombs went off near the Palestine Hotel, which overlooks the square where Iraqis and U.S. troops pulled down a statue of Saddam Hussein after the April 2003, U.S.-led invasion.

Authorities had no information yet on casualties in the attack.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/10/24/iraq.main/index.html

[MaineDem]

24. Small BBC report

In violence on Monday evening, three large blasts struck an central area of the capital close to two hotels used by journalists and foreign contractors, the Palestine and Sheraton hotels. There were initially no reports of casualties, thought there was widespread damage.

Earlier in the day, police in Baghdad said they had discovered in the last 24 hours the bodies of seven people, including three women, dumped in and around the city.

Two people were killed in a suicide car bomb attack near an Iraqi police patrol in Baghdad on Monday.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4370922.stm

Many things reported in this artcle.

[IndianaGreen]

26. I fear we will reach 2,000 dead GIs early this week

while Condi & Co will continue to say we are making great progress.

Let's bring the troops home now!

[MaineDem]

30. Bush's Perfect Storm - 2000 fatalities, Miers, indictments

I don't think this will be a good week for George.

We know it hasn't been a good 3 years for the almost 2000 dead, their families, and the untold number of Iraqis hurt, killed, and displaced by George's war of convenience.

[whatever4]

28. They just said at least 5 people wounded, no word on deaths nm

[TomClash]

31. Blasts Shake Baghdad Hotel Area

Three powerful explosions near Baghdad hotels used by foreign media have killed 11 people, police in the Iraqi capital have said.
The explosions near the Palestine and Sheraton hotels in the city centre were caught on camera, one of them sending up a huge plume of smoke and dust.

A BBC correspondent says the bombers may have chosen the hotels to ensure maximum publicity for the blasts.

At least one of the bombs appears to have been placed in a car, police said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4370922.stm

[MADem]

32. And why in hell did they even let a car get close in, without

requiring a stop/search first???

There are jersey barriers ALL OVER that section, and Blackwater types everywhere. Who was asleep at the switch this time???

[muriel_volestrangler]

49. On the BBC, they suggested the first car bombs might be a way to open

a way through the barriers for the larger truck bomb.

[MADem]

51. Weakest link, that...sounds plausible to me...nt

[IndianaGreen]

33. 11 killed, 13 wounded in attack (Faux)

Just came on the Faux crawler.

[whatever4]

34. CNN said 10 deaths, about a minute ago. The numbers differ, slightly nm

[McKenzie]

35. Blasts shake Baghdad hotel area - BBC article

This commment is interesting>>>

<snip>

A BBC correspondent says the bombers may have chosen the hotels to ensure maximum publicity for the blasts.

</snip>

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4370922.stm

[Bob3]

36. no really - media savvy bombers - who would have thought.

Sarcasm off.

[whatever4]

39. Oh, that's a big NO doubt nm

[beam me up scottie]

37. I just heard on NPR

that one of the bombs was placed in a cement truck.

Pic from BBC:

[mrfrapp]

42. Cement Truck

I was wondering there was so much dust plumage from a car bomb.

[beam me up scottie]

43. They are creative.

I'd hate to see the journalists disappear in the Green Zone.

[pinniped]

87. Here is a pic of the alleged cement truck bomb:

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/10/24/international/i074537D74.DTL

[beam me up scottie]

92. Damn.

A cropped video image taken from an APTN camera inside the Palestine Hotel, shows a cement mixer, as it smashes through the security barrier surrounding the hotel and then later explodes near to the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, on Monday, Oct. 24, 2005. Associated Press video image.

[whatever4]

38. another link to add

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051024/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_hotel_attack_12;_ylt=AneQnyL64zf2SacTK3cJM1IUewgF;_ylu=X3oDMTA2ZGZwam4yBHNlYwNmYw--

ournalists' Hotel in Baghdad Attacked

By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer 9 minutes ago

[Barrett808]

44. Is the Palestine inside the Green Zone? nn/t

[Garbo 2004]

46. No. It's right by that traffic circle/park where the staged toppling of

Saddam's statue happened.

[Rhiannon12866]

83. It's across the river from the Green Zone.

But is still protected by high concrete walls...:-(

on edit:
<snip>
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 October 7 2004.
<snip>

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1599659,00.html

[Rhiannon12866]

45. Reuters is saying that 17 are dead (update from The Guardian)

5.15pm update

Bombers target journalists' hotel in Baghdad

Staff and agencies
Monday October 24, 2005

At least a dozen people were killed this afternoon when three large bombs, one of them a cement-mixing truck packed with explosives, exploded beside Baghdad hotels used as a base by many foreign journalists, police said.

There was considerable damage to rooms of the Palestine and Sheraton hotels. Initial Iraqi police reports suggested at least 12 people had been killed and another 15 injured, Reuters reported. Associated Press quoted the Iraqi assistant interior minister as saying that 17 people were killed.

The ground floor of the nearby Sheraton hotel suffered severe damage and several people were wounded, a hotel official told Reuters by telephone.

The Palestine Hotel's windows and rooms on the south side of the 19-storey building were substantially damaged. Dramatic TV pictures showed a flash of light and sparks on the north-west side of Firdous Square, next to the hotel, followed by a huge cloud of dust and smoke rising from the scene and debris falling from the building.

After the bombing, automatic heavy weapons fire rang out in the area. Iraqi police opened fire, but it was not clear what they were shooting at.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1599659,00.html

[Dinger]

48. Explosions Rock Central Baghdad

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/10/24/iraq.main/index.html

[leftchick]

55. Photo Sequence of Cement Mixer Blasting through the blast wall!

A video image taken from an APTN camera inside the Palestine Hotel, shows a cement mixer, left, as it smashes through the security barrier surrounding the hotel and then explodes near to the Palestine hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Oct. 24, 2005. The Palestine Hotel, which houses many foreign journalists in Iraq, was hit by two rockets and one vehicle bomb Monday, killing at least 17 people and wounding at least 13 others, Iraqi police said. (AP Photo/APTN)



A video image taken from an APTN camera on the roof of the Palestine Hotel shows the explosion as a bomb in a cement mixer detonates near to the Palestine hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Oct. 24, 2005. The Palestine Hotel, which houses many foreign journalists in Iraq, was hit by two rockets and one vehicle bomb Monday, killing at least 11 people and wounding at least 13 others, Iraqi police said. (AP Photo/APTN)

[Rhiannon12866]

56. OMG! This is so horrific! But thanks for posting these, amazing pix!

I just keep wondering how much worse things can possibly get?!!!:scared::nuke:;(

[saigon68]

60. Things will get Much Worse more QUICKLY with these idiots

IN CHARGE

[Rhiannon12866]

61. They ARE the reason that things are so bad, and continue to get worse!

We had to attack Iraq, to avoid being decimated by a "mushroom cloud," remember?! Well, what the hell is this getting to look like over there? Where are the welcoming "sweets and flowers" in all this, anyway? Must be buried under all the rubble and bodies...:grr:

BTW, that's a flattering pic of Condi. She usually doesn't come across looking so friendly and approachable!:eyes:

[saigon68]

64. Yes, she does look stunning--- in a Vampire sort of Way

She apparently used that expression as a mirror tester in a factory at one time.

If the mirror stayed intact-- it was shipped.

[Rhiannon12866]

82. LOL! No wonder she always has bad hair days...

Poor woman can't look in a mirror! And you'd think her mother would have warned her that her face might freeze like that...:rofl:

[brentspeak]

62. Savages

[rodeodance]

80. the WH understands so little of insurgency!!

[rodeodance]

65. Big explosion in Bagdad. cnn breaking. more to come.

[CottonBear]

66. Another one? Different than those at the hotel this morning?

Damn. Freedom's on the march in Iraq, ain't it? :(

[oregonindy]

67. another iraqi just exploded from too much freedom.

[MsKandice01]

69. Is it wrong that I'm laughing my ass off at your post?

[Connie_Corleone]

68. Is this a different one from earlier?

[rodeodance]

70. now Wolf said 'earlier today'--He did not mention earlier in his opening

statement. sorry.

[rodeodance]

72. my gawd--it was big by the looks of the film coming out.

[MaineDem]

73. Be careful of Wolfie

He touts stuff as "breaking" when it's been news for hours both on CNN and elsewhere.

[rodeodance]

76. yup--he fooled me!! Sorry folks.

[johnfunk]

71. We must be making good progress...

... NOT!

It looks as if they're recounting the blasts from this morning

[rodeodance]

74. "3 car bombs went off near hotels"

[MaineDem]

75. This may be the same event

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1873029&mesg_id=1873029

[DoYouEverWonder]

77. Looks like that new constitution

really did the trick, not.

Of course, according to Dickhead Cheney, this is just more last throes stuff.

[William769]

78. Is this the same one thats been reported on all day?

[maddezmom]

79. locking

duplicate topic
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1873029&mesg_id=1873029

[Rhiannon12866]

81. Reuters afternoon edition. Comprehensive article.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three suicide bombers staged a coordinated attack on a Baghdad hotel complex used by foreign journalists on Monday, killing at least 15 people, police said.

The coordinated attack, at dusk in front of rolling television cameras and guaranteed global media coverage, broke a relative lull in insurgent violence over the past two weeks.

Witnesses and police said at least one of the first two bombers slammed a car into defenses around the concrete towers of the Palestine and Sheraton hotels, blasting a path for a third in a cement truck; it exploded beside a U.S. Bradley armored vehicle on guard duty, sending up flame and smoke.

There were no initial reports of U.S. military casualties, a U.S. military spokesman said. Recent media reports have focused attention on the fact that the U.S. death toll in Iraq is just three short of the headline figure of 2,000.

A U.S. military statement gave a different account, saying a combination of rockets and car bombs targeted the hotels.

The explosions, spaced over several minutes as Iraqis broke their daily Ramadan fast, made for instantly replayed footage for cameras, which were trained on the area after the first blast and hence perfectly placed for subsequent detonations.

There was widespread superficial damage in the Palestine hotel -- windows and doors were shattered as dust filled buildings nearby. A 2kg (5lb) piece of blackened, jagged metal the size of a dinner plate landed, among many smaller pieces, outside the Reuters bureau 500 metres (yards) away.

At least 15 people were killed and 11 wounded, police sources said. Other police officials gave differing figures.

http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=10026501&src=eDialog/GetContent

[IndianaGreen]

88. The carnage goes on like Chimp is babbling about the new head of FED

Thanks for the expanded Reuters article. Here we are talking about the 2,000 KIA milestone while the Lancet report conclusively showed that over 100,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed by our own doing.

[Rhiannon12866]

98. He's always babbling about something irrelevant, to distract us from his

incompetence. Though I often wonder if he really is that clueless and just doesn't get that people are continuing to die, while he frets over the small stuff.:shrug:

I agree that this is a good article, but both of the articles on this that I posted were from the foreign press. And it's interesting that you mention the impending 2000 KIA milestone, and the huge death toll of Iraqi civilians. Earlier tonight, I was checking through my bookmarks on DU.1 and was struck by a thread from early 2003. It marked the death toll of 200 Americans killed in Iraq. We knew that it would be bad, but who could have imagined just how bad it would get, or how the rising death toll in Iraq, American or countless Iraqi civilians, would become mere numbers, and an ordinary and expected part of our nightly news?!;(

on edit: I just ran across this in my travels, from CNN. 1998 Americans killed, 14,362 wounded, and they don't keep track of non-combatants wounded...:-(

Forces: U.S. & Coalition/Casualties POW/MIA
There have been 2,192 coalition troop deaths, 1,998 Americans, 98 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, two Danes, two Dutch, two Estonians, one Hungarian, 26 Italians, one Kazakh, one Latvian, 17 Poles, one Salvadoran, three Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and 18 Ukrainians in the war in Iraq as of October 24, 2005. (Graphical breakdown of casualties). The list below is the names of the soldiers, Marines, airmen, sailors and Coast Guardsmen whose families have been notified of their deaths by each country's government. At least 14,362 U.S. troops have been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon. The Pentagon does not report the number of non-hostile wounded.

http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/

[leftchick]

89. 20 dead now

I just watched the video footage on abc news. It was a very impressive amount of explosives. I am sure there are lots more where they came from. :(

[Rhiannon12866]

99. I saw the footage of the explosions, as well. Absolutely chilling, but

hardly surprising. And we know where they probably came from. Did we ever find the missing tons from that unguarded warehouse?:shrug:

[twaddler01]

93. i always wonder

Will the US be like an Iraq someday? We can make the violence form over to other countries, who's to say we can't bring it here in the US????

:grr:

[MisterP]

95. tell them only coalition forces are allowed to target journalists

[Nihil]

96. Yeah, makes a change from tank shells and machine guns ...

... but has the same effect on anyone out there who might be tempted
to tell the truth a bit too often ...

[nguoihue]

97. Not to worry

They're in their last throes