3 blasts targeting Baghdad hotels kill 36

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Three huge and apparently co-ordinated minibus bombs targeted hotels in Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 36 people and wounding 71 less than six weeks before a general election.
Iraqi politicians and US forces have warned of rising violence ahead of the March 7 vote, the second parliamentary ballot since the 2003 US-led invasion ousted Saddam Hussein but ushered in a deadly and long-lasting insurgency.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said extremists were trying to upend progress toward democracy.
The first bomb struck near the Palestine and Sheraton hotels in Abu Nawaz, close to where a giant statue of Saddam was symbolically toppled almost seven years ago, at around 3:30pm (1230 GMT), an interior ministry official said.
The second and third blasts just minutes later targeted the Babylon Hotel in the central district of Karrada and the Hamra hotel in Jadriyah, in the south of the capital, he added.
Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad Major General Qassim Atta said all three bombings were suicide attacks.
An interior ministry official told AFP that 36 people had been killed and 71 were wounded. The streets leading to the hotels were immediately sealed off, preventing journalists from approaching.
A security source said armed clashes broke out near the Hamra in what appeared to be a diversionary attack before the suicide bomber drove his minibus at the hotel seconds later and detonated it.
The first explosion in Abu Nawaz shook ground miles away from the site of the blast and sent plumes of smoke rising hundreds of metres (yards) into the sky.
Mondays attacks differed from recent high-profile bombings in Baghdad in that they targeted hotels, one of the capitals few remaining symbols of tourism, rather than government buildings.
The hotel bombings were followed around 90 minutes later by a government announcement that Saddams notorious cousin and henchman Chemical Ali Hassan al-Majid had been executed.
Nearly 400 people were killed and more than 1,000 were wounded last year in co-ordinated vehicle bombings at govt buildings, including the ministries of finance, foreign affairs, and justice in August, October and December. The latest attacks occurred less than two weeks after security forces sealed off Baghdad after being tipped-off that bomb-laden cars had been parked in the city.
Insurgents, weakened in the past year, have in the past six months changed tactics and mounted successful attacks on hard targets such as government buildings, rather than so-called soft targets in civilian areas.
There are widespread fears, in the wake of the bloody attacks to hit Baghdad in the second half of 2009, that political violence will rise in the weeks leading up to the March vote.
The election is seen as a crucial step towards consolidating Iraqs democracy and securing a complete US military exit by the end of 2011, as planned.
However a bitter row has broken out in recent weeks after hundreds of candidates were banned from taking part in the election because of their alleged links with Saddam.
The dispute has alarmed the United States, and the latest bombings will add to Washingtons concerns
When people believe in the political system and that they can chart their own future, then that poses a direct rebuke to those who try to govern by fear, intimidation and violence, Clinton told reporters on Monday.
We unfortunately believe that that there will be continued efforts by the terrorists by Al-Qaeda in Iraq, in particular to try to upend the commitment of the Iraqi people toward a democratic future.
The Iraqis themselves by their actions are demonstrating a great deal of courage.
US Vice President Joe Biden was in Baghdad for 24 hours at the weekend after which he said he was confident Iraqs leaders would find a just solution to the exclusions issue.
Meanwhile, UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday slammed the bomb attacks and urged the Iraqi people to remain comnitted to reconciliation.
The Secretary General strongly condemns the bomb attacks in Baghdad today that have killed dozens of people and injured scores more, a UN statement said. No cause can justify these attacks on civilian targets.
Ban appealed to Iraqis to remain committed to a path of reconciliation despite such attacks, including through the ongoing election preparations.
Three huge and apparently coordinated minibus bombs targeted hotels in Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 36 people and wounding 71 less than six weeks before a general election.