Blast Heard at Iraq Hotel (Rashid Hotel in Baghdad ) Where Wolfowitz Staying

Date:Saturday October 25, @04:46PM
Author:admin
Topic:News
from the story.news.yahoo.com dept.

UPDATE: U.S. Quits Fortified Hotel in Baghdad

UPDATE: U.S. Military Officer Dies in Rocket Barrage (NY TIMES 10/26)

UPDATE: US Shocked at Baghdad Hotel Attack (BBC)

UPDATE: Baghdad Attack Counters Wolfowitz's Upbeat Message (Washington Post)

UPDATE: Two (NEW) Explosions Reported in Central Baghdad (Reuters)

UPDATE: U.S. Colonel Killed in Iraq Hotel Strike (AP Sunday)

UPDATE: Wolfowitz unharmed after Baghdad blast  (Reuters)

http://story.news.yahoo.com

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Baghdad hotel at which U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was staying was evacuated after a series of blasts were heard early on Sunday, according to a journalist staying at the hotel.

At least one person was wounded, but there was no immediate word on the whereabouts of Wolfowitz and his senior aides, a Reuters journalist at the Rashid Hotel said.

The blasts occurred at about 6 a.m. local time.

Wolfowitz, a major force behind the Iraq (news - web sites) war, was paying his second visit to Iraq in three months and stressed the need to speed up the formation of a new Iraqi army, police force, border guard and civil defense corps.

U.S. Quits Fortified Hotel in Baghdad

http://www.washingtonpost.com

BAGHDAD, Oct. 26 -- The U.S. occupation authority abandoned the al-Rashid Hotel after it was hit early Sunday by a fatal rocket barrage fired from a launcher disguised as a portable generator. A senior U.S. Army officer was killed and 17 people were wounded in the brazen strike at the core of the U.S. presence in Iraq. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz, who was in the hotel but unhurt in the attack, vowed that "we're not giving up on this job."

Eight to 10 rockets were fired by a timer from the launching platform, which was described by one U.S. commander as resembling a "science project." The air-to- ground missiles struck the hotel at about 6:10 a.m., smashing holes in the beige cement exterior and sending debris flying through the 14-story luxury hotel. Occupants were roused from bed and fled in their pajamas.

The assault on the 462-room al-Rashid Hotel was aimed at a prominent symbol of the U.S. occupation. The hotel was the living quarters for hundreds of U.S. military and civilian personnel. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, on NBC's "Meet the Press," said, "We'll have to get the security situation under control." He added that officials knew security would be a challenge but "we didn't expect it would be quite this intense this long."

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printed from Blast Heard at Iraq Hotel (Rashid Hotel in Baghdad ) Where Wolfowitz Staying on 2004-06-22 17:33:20