Blasts at Baghdad hotels kill 9

The toll from car bombs that ripped through the car parks of two upscale Baghdad hotels has risen to at least nine killed and dozens wounded, officials said yesterday.

Militants were able to bring the bombs, which exploded just before midnight on Thursday and were heard across the city centre, inside the walled compounds of the Ishtar and Babylon hotels in central Baghdad.

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The blast at the Ishtar -- formerly a Sheraton -- shattered windows of the recently renovated hotel, turning rows of expensive cars and SUVs into charred, twisted metal.

A second bombing struck the car park at the Babylon, another upmarket and recently refurbished hotel that overlooks the Tigris river.

The Babylon and Sheraton were hit in coordinated attacks in January 2010, together with the Hamra, which never reopened.