BAGHDAD — At least 18 people were killed and 31 others wounded when armed militants stormed a guarded hotel in central Baghdad’s Al-Mansour district on Thursday, Iraq’s Interior Ministry said. Among the dead were two foreign diplomats and a senior Iraqi security official. No group immediately claimed responsibility.
The attackers arrived in two vehicles and opened fire on the hotel’s security checkpoint before entering the lobby of the Babylon International Hotel. Security forces responded within minutes and a gunfight lasting more than two hours ensued. All three attackers were killed. Six hotel staff and nine guests were among the dead, along with the two diplomats from nations that have not been identified pending family notification.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani convened an emergency cabinet meeting and placed all of Baghdad on a 24-hour security lockdown. The curfew began at 8 p.m. The Popular Mobilization Forces deployed additional checkpoints on all major highways leading into the capital.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility in an online statement 90 minutes after the attack began, identifying the perpetrators as three foreign fighters who crossed into Iraq from Syria. Iraqi officials said they were still verifying the claim. The attack bears similarities to a 2021 IS cell attack on a Baghdad shopping district that killed 32 people.
The US Embassy in Baghdad issued a security alert urging American citizens to shelter in place. Oil prices rose 1.8 percent to a three-month high of $122.50 per barrel on the Baghdad attack.