2008 Woodie Awards
Insurgent Bomb Attack In Iraq Over Constitution
Iraqi insurgents bomb hotel complex after Sunni minority rejects constitution.
Matthew Schofield/Knight Ridder Tribune
Issue date: 10/28/05 Section: News
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BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents launched a coordinated car-bomb attack Monday on the Palestine and Sheraton hotel complex - one of Baghdad's most famous landmarks - less than two hours after it became clear that Iraq's Sunni Muslim Arab minority had overwhelmingly rejected a proposed national constitution. Final nationwide results will be announced Tuesday.
At least 17 people died in the bomb attacks, and two dozen wounded were treated in the shredded remains of the Palestine Hotel lobby.
The bomb attack at about 5:40 p.m. targeted the hotel complex in the city center known as the site of most international news broadcasts from the city and for its view of Fardos Square, where celebrating Iraqis tore down a statue of Saddam Hussein in April 2003.
The attack began when one or two suicide bombers drove cars into the 9-foot-high, razor wire-topped blast walls surrounding the two tall hotels, though U.S. military officials said the initial attack might have been two rocket blasts instead of car bombs.
The explosions knocked a hole in the wall, and two minutes later television cameras recorded an explosives-packed cement truck rumbling through the gap and between the hotels before detonating.
Shortly after that explosion, which sent a cloud of debris and fire skyward, another car bomb detonated across the square. Police said the last explosion probably went off prematurely and had been intended to catch rescue personnel and residents who rushed to the scene.
Iraq's national security adviser, Mouwafak al-Rubaie, called the attack a "very clear" attempt to take control of the hotels and seize Western journalists who've made up a significant portion of the hotels' guests since the invasion as hostages.
Security personal on the scene, however, said there was no follow-up ground assault and that the only shots in the area were Iraqi military and police spraying gunfire, as they frequently do after such attacks.
The bombing came shortly after election officials announced preliminary referendum results that showed the deep divide between the nation's Sunni Kurds and Shiite Muslim majority on the one hand and its Sunni Arabs on the other. Officials said they hoped to have final election results Tuesday, 10 days after the voting.
At least 17 people died in the bomb attacks, and two dozen wounded were treated in the shredded remains of the Palestine Hotel lobby.
The bomb attack at about 5:40 p.m. targeted the hotel complex in the city center known as the site of most international news broadcasts from the city and for its view of Fardos Square, where celebrating Iraqis tore down a statue of Saddam Hussein in April 2003.
The attack began when one or two suicide bombers drove cars into the 9-foot-high, razor wire-topped blast walls surrounding the two tall hotels, though U.S. military officials said the initial attack might have been two rocket blasts instead of car bombs.
The explosions knocked a hole in the wall, and two minutes later television cameras recorded an explosives-packed cement truck rumbling through the gap and between the hotels before detonating.
Shortly after that explosion, which sent a cloud of debris and fire skyward, another car bomb detonated across the square. Police said the last explosion probably went off prematurely and had been intended to catch rescue personnel and residents who rushed to the scene.
Iraq's national security adviser, Mouwafak al-Rubaie, called the attack a "very clear" attempt to take control of the hotels and seize Western journalists who've made up a significant portion of the hotels' guests since the invasion as hostages.
Security personal on the scene, however, said there was no follow-up ground assault and that the only shots in the area were Iraqi military and police spraying gunfire, as they frequently do after such attacks.
The bombing came shortly after election officials announced preliminary referendum results that showed the deep divide between the nation's Sunni Kurds and Shiite Muslim majority on the one hand and its Sunni Arabs on the other. Officials said they hoped to have final election results Tuesday, 10 days after the voting.