Three suicide bombers attacked hotels in Baghdad Monday, killing at least 36 people in the Iraqi capital and wounding 71 others.
Iraqi officials say the attackers drove cars packed with explosives and set off their bombs in quick succession outside Baghdad's Ishtar Sheraton, Babylon and al-Hamra hotels.
Baghdad has been hit by several coordinated bomb attacks since August that have killed hundreds of people, and authorities have expressed concern about possible high-profile attacks to disrupt national parliamentary elections scheduled for March 7.
In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the elections and other moves toward normal, functioning democracy in Iraq are the "worst possible outcome for terrorists."