BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three large car bombs rocked well-known Baghdad hotels on Monday, killing at least 36 people and ending a 1-1/2-month lull in coordinated assaults on the Iraqi capital as the country heads into a March election.
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Police said at least 71 people were wounded in the separate suicide car bombings, which went off within minutes of one another. Some of the casualties were police. Health Ministry data showed a lower figure for the death toll.
The first blast occurred near an entrance of the Ishtar Sheraton hotel, a Baghdad landmark on the eastern side of the Tigris River. The shock wave blew open doors, shattered windows and sent thick dust swirling into the Reuters offices nearby.
A giant mushroom cloud of debris rose from the blast site as ambulances and fire trucks rushed to the scene. Helicopters buzzed overhead and soldiers blocked off entry.
Towering concrete blastwalls protecting the hotel along the Abu Nawas riverside boulevard fell like dominoes. The blast took place across from a park frequented by families and picnickers.
The building has not been a regular hotel for years and largely houses company offices and some media organizations, but some adventurous international tour groups began using it last year.
Zina Tareq, an Iraqi journalist who was in her office at the time of the blast, said she dived under a desk with the five-year-old daughter of a colleague.
"We heard a deafening sound. The ceiling collapsed on us and the windows shattered," she said. Another colleague was wounded by broken glass.
Police said another blast went off just outside the al-Hamra hotel, which has been a hub for many Western journalists since the 2003 U.S. invasion. One Western reporter said the hotel had sustained heavy damage. The Washington Post said three of its Iraqi employees were wounded.
Houses collapsed near the Hamra, and civil defense officials searched for survivors. The blast at the Hamra, like that at the Sheraton, ripped a giant crater in the pavement.
A final bomb appeared to have blown up near the Babylon hotel, which is used by Iraqi travelers and sometimes for government meetings.
The area around the hotel has been hit several times in the past year by mortar or rocket fire aimed at the U.S. embassy, located across the river in the heavily guarded Green Zone.
Baghdad security spokesman Major General Qassim al-Moussawi put the death toll at seven killed with 51 wounded, citing Health Ministry data. Death tolls from major attacks have become a political football in the run-up to the March 7 vote.
The last major attack on Baghdad occurred on December 8 when a series of car bombs killed more than 100 people. On October 25 and August 19, a total of around 250 people were killed in suicide assaults on government buildings.
The March ballot is a critical moment for the country as it emerges from the sectarian slaughter unleashed by the 2003 invasion and begins to sign multibillion-deals with global oil firms that could set the stage for future prosperity.
(Additional reporting by Aseel Kami and Ahmed Rasheed; Writing by Michael Christie; Editing by Missy Ryan and Charles Dick)
Three successive suicide car bombs in Baghdad, capital of Iraq killed at least 36 people, according to the Iraqi ministry. The incident occurred just before the country's election, scheduled for March 7.

"There were three explosions, one near the Sheraton hotel the other near the Babylon hotel. The third we are checking into," stated Baghdad security spokesman Major General Qassim al-Moussawi.

The Ministry of Interior, Iraq stated that 36 people had died and 71 wounded. The three explosions occurred in rapid succession and sent smoke clouds in the sky. The first bomb exploded at 3.40 pm. Subsequently, fire engines arrived at the hotels and the police and soldiers together barred entry.

The next blast occurred at the Babylon hotel, which is often used by the government for meeting. Subsequently, another car bomb blasted the Hamra hotel compound, which hosts multiple news agencies.

According to witnesses, gunmen dressed in business suits had fired the checkpoint guards. During the firing, the building gate was opened. The van entered and was detonated. The explosion took place in a section where there were residential homes. The blast opened a gigantic crater, 12 feet wide and 6 feet deep only about 50 feet from the hotel. It completely destroyed the house just in the front of the building, where several bodies were discovered by rescue workers. 

Um Riyadh, resident of the demolished house escaped with multiple injuries. "We lost the house. We lost everything. Why should I stay in Iraq? I’m going to leave. There’s no other solution.", said the victim of the attack.

Although no group claimed responsibility, Saad Mutalabi, an adviser to the Iraqi Cabinet, blamed Al Qaeda. "It is a signature of Al Qaeda. I don't think any of the political forces in Iraq would commit such an atrocity. It would not benefit any of them.", said he.

The attack collided with the execution of Ali Hassan Majid, or "Chemical Ali".

Earlier this month, Iraqi security forces, aided American intelligence agencies, had barred a massive attack on the city. They had seized several pounds of explosives and had brought the city to a temporary standstill.

The earlier attacks were allegedly executed by Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, in alliance with Saddam Hussein’s Baath party. This has not been proved as of now.

Multiple bombings have killed several people in Iraq, in the past few months. Iraqi authorities fear that such attacks may have been carried out to disrupt the forthcoming the general elections of Iraq.