2003 Baghdad Hotel Car Bombing

The Baghdad Hotel is a five-star hotel on Sadoun Street in Baghdad, Iraq, opened in 1958 and located on the eastern bank of the Tigris River across from the Green Zone. Construction began in 1953, funded privately by four Iraqi Christian families though built on state-owned land. The hotel held a soft opening in early 1958 presided over by King Faisal II, shortly before his execution during the 14 July Revolution, with a grand opening on 5 September 1958 attended by revolutionary leader and then-Prime Minister Abdul-Karim Qasim. Over subsequent decades the hotel hosted numerous cultural and artistic figures from across the Arab world, including Abdel Halim Hafez during a 1965 visit, as well as Sabah, Fahd Ballan, Samira Tewfik, Mariam Fakhr Eddine, and Amina Rizk. The hotel was nationalized in 1982 and has since been operated by the state-owned Baghdad Hotel Company.

Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Baghdad Hotel became a frequent gathering place for Western journalists, aid workers, and both American and Iraqi members of the Iraqi Governing Council. On 12 October 2003, the hotel was the target of a car bombing attack. A bomb-rigged vehicle drove down a side street toward the hotel but was fired upon by security guards. The resulting explosion killed the attacker along with six Iraqi civilians, and wounded 32 other people, including three U.S. soldiers. Security officials stated that concrete security barriers around the hotel absorbed much of the force of the blast, which prevented more extensive destruction of the building itself.