Suicide bomber explodes van disguised as ambulance

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A suicide bomber blew up a van disguised as an ambulance in front of a hotel Wednesday after speeding through a security barrier in the heart of Baghdad, killing three people -- including a South African -- and injuring 17.

Also, in the southern city of Nasiriyah, about 10,000 followers of a radical Shiite Muslim cleric forced the coalition-appointed provincial governor to vacate his office, insisting they would recognize only elected leaders.

"No to Israel! No to imperialism! No to America!" the crowd chanted. Coalition officials said the governor left his office to defuse tensions but did not resign.

The bombing at the Shaheen -- a hotel frequented by Westerners -- confirmed intelligence warnings that insurgents might use ambulances to evade security checks.

It also reinforced fears voiced by U.S. officials that insurgents would step up attacks ahead of the planned July 1 transfer of power by the U.S.-led coalition to Iraqis. It was the second suicide bombing in the capital in less than two weeks.

Red Crescent markings

Witnesses said a white van with Red Crescent markings drove through an opening in the barbed wire and concrete cylinder barriers on Masbah Street at about 6:40 a.m.

They said guards opened fire at the van but it managed to reach the front of the Shaheen Hotel, where it exploded. The U.S. military said the van was packed with 400-500 pounds of explosives.

Police and the U.S. military said four people, including the bomber, were killed. One was South African, according to South African Foreign Ministry spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa. He said four South Africans were among the injured.

The blast left a huge crater in the street and destroyed the ground floor of the three-story hotel, which was used by long-term guests, including Iraq's labor minister, Sami Izara al-Majoun. He was unhurt.

"My guards came to the room and rushed me downstairs. The hotel was burning and there was fire and smoke everywhere," al-Majoun said.

One of his guards, Rassol Karim, said the bomber "was trying to drive into the hotel."

Several embassies, including the Swiss, Polish and Armenian, are located in the posh Karadah neighborhood. The blast damaged at least three nearby buildings, including one housing police assigned to protect the embassies.

The blast hurled remains of one car across the street. Several other cars caught fire and were reduced to mounds of twisted metal.

At least five hotels used by foreigners in Baghdad have been attacked by insurgents with car bombs, rockets and other explosive devices.

On Jan. 18, at least 31 people were killed in a suicide bombing at a main gate to the headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition. Most of the dead were Iraqis.

The attacks cast fresh doubts on whether Iraq is secure enough to hold the elections demanded by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, an influential Shiite cleric. He opposes a U.S. plan to select a transitional government through an interim legislature chosen in regional caucuses.

A United Nations team arrived Tuesday in Baghdad to determine whether it was safe for another U.N. team to come to Iraq to study prospects for an early election.

It is hoped that the team's decision would end the deadlock between the U.S.-led administration and the Shiites, Iraq's majority that was suppressed under Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime.

The Nasiriyah mass protests Wednesday signaled the Shiites' growing assertiveness, demanding that provincial governor Sabri al-Roumaith step down. He left his office after failing to placate the crowd.

Leading the protest was Muqtada al-Sadr, a rival of al-Sistani. Still, the crowd echoed al-Sistani's position that unelected officials have no authority, carrying signs reading "No to appointments, yes to elections."

Italian troops in Nasiriyah did not intervene. The city was the site of a Nov. 12 suicide bombing at the headquarters of Italy's paramilitary police that killed more than 30 people, including 19 Italians.