Blast at NBC’s Baghdad Hotel Leaves One Dead

A bomb exploded early today in the Iraqi capital at a hotel housing American journalists, killing a hotel employee and slightly injuring a soundman working for NBC television news. It was the first attack in Baghdad apparently targeting foreign media workers.

The 7 a.m. blast at the Al Aike Hotel, used by NBC as its Baghdad bureau, seemed to have been caused by a homemade bomb placed on the sidewalk near the generator, NBC employees said. The blast shattered windows on the hotel’s first floor.

Although there were no signs on the building indicating that it was used by NBC, it was well-known locally that foreign journalists were staying there. Employees noted that representatives of various organizations in Baghdad often stopped by the hotel to drop off news releases because phone service in the capital is extremely limited.

NBC said it had received no threats, but employees reported that they had been concerned about security in the area and were in the process of moving their bureau to a new location. Like many Western news organizations in the capital, NBC has not employed a large security force.

“I can’t tell you who they wanted to target,” said Salman Kareem, a police colonel. “NBC should do more to protect itself.”

The blast also knocked out windows in a fast-food restaurant nearby. A worker in the restaurant, Hossam Hasballah, said he and his colleagues knew the hotel employee who was killed, Awais Ali, 36, a Somali who had lived for many years in Iraq and had an Iraqi wife and four children.

“He was our friend,” Hasballah said. “His job was to run the generator.”