The al Hamra Hotel was bombed on Monday, the target of one of three bombs that went off in Baghdad News reports are still fuzzy but it sounds like the hotel sustained substantial damage. In the summer and fall of 2006, I stayed at the al Hamra as part of the McClatchy Newspapers Baghdad Bureau. Along with McClatchy, western news organizations that included the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, NBC, Cox Newspapers and the Times of London where housed there. Every time you saw an NBC correspondent doing a stand-up in the dark with the mosque in the background it was from the sixth floor of the al Hamra.

The hotel is in the Karrada District of Baghdad, which was relatively safe compared to other parts of the city at that time. It was not in what was commonly referred to as the "heavily fortified Green Zone," which was across the river. Iraq was in the throes of what amounted to a civil war, with upwards of 50 bodies a day washing up on the banks of the Tigris or being found in vacant lots. The bombing on Monday brings up worries. The McClatchy Bureau had a handful of Iraqis working there as drivers and journalists. I'm awaiting word on whether there were any injuries. Today, the media watch website Romenesko published an item from McClatchy indicating the bureau had movved a few weeks agaon. Many of my colleagues have since scattered, to the U.S. and to Canada. But many others remain. I remember sitting out at the pool one afternoon when one of the Iraqi reporters brought her husband and young daughter, who had just celebrated her birthday, to the bureau for a visit. She introduced the little girl to me: "Say hello to uncle," she said to her. At that time in Iraq it was very difficult to go anywhere without massive planning, so I spent a lot of time in my room during the six weeks I spent there.

Like many news organizations, McClatchy had a 24/7 security. Our British security went over tactics and weapons training. I loaded and unloaded a 9mm pistol and an AK47 rifle to feel more comfortable with their feel. Outside the hotel, security was very visible but the truth is you never knew which side these guys were on or what they would do if something actually happened. A year earlier, the hotel had been bombed by two suicide strikes.

There was actually video of the bombing.. Eight Iraqis died in that blast. A foot was found in the swimming pool.