Seventeen people have been killed in three car bombings close to a fortified hotel compound used by foreign journalists in central Baghdad.
Police said two of the blasts were suicide bombings and nine people were also injured.
The explosions, which occurred within minutes of each other, shattered windows at the Palestine and Sheraton Hotels and sent a huge ball of fire and smoke into the sky.
Two small blasts on Ferdus square were followed by a huge one near the Palestine, Sheraton and Sadir hotels.
Security sources said at least one of the explosions was caused by a car bomb.
The attacks came amid mounting tension over the delayed outcome to Iraq's constitutional vote.
