A wounded Iraqi civilian, with a bandaged head and bloody shirt, talks to American soldiers near the scene of a car bombing outside the Baghdad Hotel. Within a half hour of the blast American troops and Iraqi police had set up a temporary perimeter about a block from the scene, later reinforcing it with concertina wire. (Jason Chudy / S&S)
A wounded Iraqi civilian, with a bandaged head and bloody shirt, talks to American soldiers near the scene of a car bombing outside the Baghdad Hotel. Within a half hour of the blast American troops and Iraqi police had set up a temporary perimeter about a block from the scene, later reinforcing it with concertina wire. (Jason Chudy / S&S)
Numerous Iraqi civilians attempted to talk their way into the perimeter; most were turned back by the soldiers. Small units of soldiers share guard responsibilities at the Baghdad and two other nearby hotels with Iraqi police and protective forces. (Jason Chudy / S&S)
Dust rises from the scene of a car bombing near the Baghdad Hotel Sunday afternoon. Troops from the 1st Armored Division, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment and numerous military police companies had cordoned off the scene within a half hour of the blast. (Jason Chudy / S&S)
Soldiers from the 1st Armored Division's 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment look back at the scene of a bombing near the Baghdad Hotel Sunday afternoon as an Iraqi Federal Police officer walks by. According to preliminary reports, one soldier was slightly injured in the attack, treated at the scene and returned to duty. (Jason Chudy / S&S)
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Soldiers responded quickly to the chaotic aftermath of a double-car bombing Sunday afternoon that killed at least six Iraqis and wounded dozens of others outside the Baghdad Hotel.
As smoke filled the air, the soldiers set up a perimeter and provided security for fire trucks, ambulances and crime scene investigators.
According to Col. Peter Mansoor, commander of the 1st Armored Division’s 1st Brigade, three American soldiers were slightly injured in the bombing, which occurred around 12:45 p.m.
One soldier was treated on the scene and returned to full duty a short time later.
A handful of soldiers provide security at the hotel with local Iraqi police and federal protective service personnel. They also guard the nearby Palestine and Sheraton hotels.
The blasts were heard as far away as the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment base, Camp Muleskinner, about 10 miles south of the hotel.
Mansoor told reporters that a car traveling down one of the main north-south travel routes on Baghdad’s eastern side tried to negotiate the cement barriers at a hotel entrance. The Associated Press later reported that two cars were involved. Both were fired upon by U.S. and Iraqi guards before both explosives were detonated.
There was no damage to the hotel, but nearby shops and apartments took the brunt of the explosions.
Within minutes of the attack, 2nd ACR Kiowa helicopters were circling the scene.
Within a half-hour, soldiers from the 1st Armored Division’s 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 2nd ACR and various military police units, including the 204th, 812th and 233rd MP Companies, set up a perimeter about a block in radius from the blast.
Soldiers later reinforced the perimeter with concertina wire, pushing a crowd of Iraqis and journalists back a few dozen yards.
A group of about three dozen Iraqis raised fists and shouted slogans at two soldiers, who tried to calm the crowd, but later retreated back to the perimeter lines.
Kiowas, later supported by Army Black Hawk helicopters, continued to circle the scene for at least three hours after the blast. About 2:45 p.m., two Air Force F-15s made two passes over the site.
