A massive blast destroyed a hotel in central Baghdad today, killing at least 7 people.
Iraq's deputy interior minister, Ahmed Kadhim, told Reuters a rocket was the likely cause of the explosion, which struck the Mt. Lebanon Hotel around 8 p.m. local time.
But other analysts said the building's lax security would allow for a car-bomb attack.
Many people were still under the rubble of the hotel, which mostly is frequented by Kurds and Egyptians, according to reports.
It is located near the headquarters of the Arab-language satellite television station al-Jazeera. Nearby is Firdaus Square, where U.S. Marines helped bring down a bronze statue of Saddam Hussein April 9.
Evan Kohlman, senior terrorism analyst at The Investigative Project, said "this bears all the fingerprints ... of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi," the al-Qaida-linked Jordanian militant believed responsible for previous bombings in Iraq, Fox News reported.
"Anyone who's a foreigner now is becoming a target in Iraq," Kohlman said.
The U.S. military has told Fox News an increase in violence in Iraq is likely from now until June 30.
Another analyst pointed to the blast coming on the one-year anniversary this week of the launch of the U.S. military campaign to oust Saddam Hussein.
"I don't think there's any doubt about that at all," said Ret. Col. David Hunt, a Fox News military analyst.
Today, U.S. and Iraqi military forces launched a campaign against insurgents and illegal weapons called "Iron Promise," which already has netted a pair of rocket-propelled grenade launchers, sacks full of grenades and the arrests of three men.
Witnesses to the explosion said flames shot skyward, jumping to nearby buildings and igniting trees.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters today "this remains a time of testing in Iraq."
"The stakes are high, the terrorists know the stakes are high but they will not prevail," he said. "We will meet this test with strength and resolve. Democracy is taking root in Iraq and there is no turning back. A free and peaceful Iraq will be a major blow to terrorists."
Across the Tigris River from the Mt. Lebanon Hotel is the "Green Zone" that encompasses the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority.
"I'm surprised this explosion happened to this hotel" since it's not very high-profile, one Iraqi National Congress member told Fox News.
"Maybe the terrorists are getting so desperate to find targets" since many other buildings are well protected "at a time when Iraqis are making a lot of advances in democracy," he added.