Al Qaeda Eyed In Iraq Blast

A thunderous car bomb shattered a five-story hotel housing foreigners in central Baghdad on Wednesday night, killing 27 people and leaving a jagged, 20-foot-wide crater just days before the anniversary of the start of the Iraq war.

Flames and heavy smoke burst skyward from the Mount Lebanon Hotel, torching nearby homes, offices and shops along with palm and eucalyptus trees. Rescuers pulled bodies from the rubble and searched for other victims of the attack, which wounded 41 people.

U.S. investigators suspect al Qaeda is behind the attack on the hotel, reports CBS' David Martin. The main suspect is Abu Al-Zarqawi who U.S. officials say is communicating with senior al Qaeda leaders in Iran.

Even before today's bombing, Zarqawi was the most wanted man in Iraq, fingered by American intelligence as the ringleader of some of the deadliest terrorist attacks, reports Martin.

Last month, the CIA intercepted a letter written by Zarqawi promising more car bombings as part of a plan to foment a civil war and offering to serve as al Qaeda's army in Iraq. In the same letter, Zarqawi complained about the difficulties of operating in Iraq which unlike Afghanistan "has no mountains in which to seek refuge, or forest in which to hide."

Dazed and wounded people stumbled from the wreckage. A father cradled his young daughter, who was limp in his arms. Coated in dust, some rescuers dug through the debris with bare hands as uniformed firefighters fought the blaze and ambulance workers stood by with orange stretchers.

"It was huge boom followed by complete darkness and then the red glow of a fire," said 16-year-old Walid Mohammed Abdel-Maguid, who lives near the hotel. A U.S. soldier a mile away said the blast — which took place about 8 p.m. — felt as though it were next door.

Army Col. Ralph Baker of the 1st Armored Division estimated that the bomb contained 1,000 pounds of explosives. He said the bomb was a mix of plastic explosives and artillery shells. That was the same mixture of explosives used in the Aug. 19 suicide attack on the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, which killed 22 people.

Americans, Britons, Egyptians as well as other foreigners were staying at the Mount Lebanon Hotel, said Baghdad resident Faleh Kalhan. But some residents in the area said they believed guests left the hotel a week ago after its management received threats. If true, many casualties were likely in adjacent buildings. The British Broadcasting Corp. reported that two Britons were among the wounded.

The blast ignited at least eight cars, one of which was hurled into a store. Some vehicles were little more than mangled piles of metal. The explosion blew bricks, air conditioners, furniture, wires and other debris hundreds of yards from the hotel.

The Mount Lebanon was a so-called soft target because it did not have concrete blast barriers and other security measures that protect offices of the U.S.-led coalition and buildings where Westerners live and work.

The Bush administration offered prayers for the victims but said such attacks would not change U.S. policy.

"Democracy is taking root in Iraq and there is no turning back," said Scott McClellan, White House spokesman. "This is a time of testing, but the terrorists will not prevail."

The attack came just three days before the first anniversary of the start of the U.S.-led war to topple Saddam Hussein. It took place behind Firdaus Square, where Iraqis toppled a bronze statue of Saddam on April 9 with the help of U.S. Marines who had just entered the center of the capital.

Assailants, including suicide bombers, have repeatedly carried out bomb attacks in Iraq since August. The targets have included Iraqi police stations, army recruiting centers, the U.N. headquarters and the offices of the international Red Cross.

In other developments: