Suicide bombers kill 36 in Iraq

Suicide bombers have killed 36 people in three separate attacks in Iraq.

At least ten people were slayed in the lobby of a busy Baghdad hotel used by foreigners and Iraqi officials, police and witnesses said.

In the northern oil city of Baiji, 18 people died and another 40 wounded when a suicide bomber rammed a fuel tanker into protective walls outside a police headquarters.

Police also said eight people were killed when a suicide car bomber struck outside the governor's office in the southern Shia city of Hilla.

In Baghdad, police said a bomber wearing a vest packed with explosives had walked into the busy lobby of the Mansour Hotel.

Sunni Arab tribal leaders from western Anbar province had gathered there for a meeting. Iraqi state television said a prominent tribal leader was among the dead.

One witness said: "It was a huge explosion, the whole building shook for a few seconds."

The witness said the lobby had been badly damaged. Another witness said he had seen seven bodies, while police said ten people had been killed and 15 wounded.

Some Sunni tribal leaders in Anbar have joined forces to form US-backed provincial police units to fight against Sunni Islamist al-Qaeda, prompting a bloody power struggle in the vast desert region.

US and Iraqi officials blame most car bomb attacks in Iraq on Sunni Islamist al-Qaeda.

The attacks follow the launch of US-led offensives in beltways and provinces around Baghdad to deny al-Qaeda militants sanctuary in farmlands and towns from where they launch car bomb attacks and other violence.

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