American killed in hotel rocket attack

At least six rockets blasted holes in a Baghdad hotel seen as a symbol of the US-led occupation.

The attack left an unspecified number of casualties in a building that is home to many Americans.

US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, who appeared shaken after the early morning attack, said he had unconfirmed reports that one American had been killed. The US military command spoke of an "unknown number of casualties".

Mr Wolfowitz, who is believed to have been in the Al Rasheed Hotel at the time, expressed "profound sympathy" for the victims of the attack, which blew out windows in several of the middle floors.

Mr Wolfowitz said that danger persists in Iraq "as long as there are criminals out there staging hit and run attacks".

The attack occurred one day after a US Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed near the northern city of Tikrit.

Major Jossyln Aberle, spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division, confirmed the helicopter received ground fire from a rocket-propelled grenade "while it was still in the air", but the pilot maintained control and crash-landed.

One crew member was injured, she said.

At the Al Rasheed, the impacts left at least eight holes, the largest about two feet by three feet across, and shattered windows in at least two dozen rooms on the west side of the hotel.

The most severe damage appeared to be on the fifth and eighth floors of the 18-storey hotel. Curtains could be seen dangling on the face of the hotel. US troops sealed off the area, located in a heavily-guarded district near coalition headquarters, after the attack. The rockets were fired two hours after coalition authorities ended the night-time curfew in the Iraqi capital in preparation for the Muslim holy month Ramadan.

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