Three large explosions ripped through hotels in the centre of the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Monday, state Iraqi television reported, with police putting the toll at at least 12 dead and 25 injured, DPA reported.
The first blast hit the Sheraton hotel, the second hit the Babylon hotel, and the third hit the Hamra hotel, where many foreign journalists stay.
Large plumes of smoke could be seen rising above the city and sirens wailed as emergency workers flocked to the scene, witnesses told the German Press Agency dpa.
"The blasts were so powerful, the house started to shake," said Lubna Naji, a student who lives in the nearby neighbourhood of al-Karradah.
The city has been on edge for weeks. Iraqi security forces two weeks ago discovered hundreds of kilograms of explosives and arrested 25 people in a massive search that wreaked havoc on the morning commute in Baghdad.
In an unrelated attack, two policemen were killed in the disputed northern city of Kirkuk on Monday, police said.
The two were shot on their way to work in the Hay al-Wasti district shortly before dawn, police said, adding they believed the gunmen had used silencers.
At least 12 dead in triple hotel bombings in Baghdad
