ISIS has claimed responsibility for a car bombing that hit Cristal Grand Ishtar, which killed four and injured 13 on Thursday, according to Sky News.
However, a spokesperson from Abu Dhabi-based Cristal Hotels & Resorts has told Hotelier that nobody was injured or killed in the blast.
Another attack on the same day, this time a suicide car bombing, hit the recently-renovated 300-room Babylon Warwick, which is located on the banks of the Tigris River opposite the American Embassy.
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The blast reportedly killed six and injured 14.
Both bombs went off in the car parks of the hotels around midnight on Thursday.
Several media outlets are thought to be based at the Cristal.
A source from Cristal Hotels & Resorts told Hotelier: “We will continue to operate as normal and all security measures are in place, and additional high security measures have been implemented.
“There were no casualties in the blast, and nobody was injured. There has been limited damage as the bomb went off in the car park so there was nobody present there.
“None of the staff were injured. Most of the staff are locally-based and are very well protected and they are very confident in our security measures.
“Obviously it is very unfortunate. The conflict is not under our control, however we do our best given the circumstances.”
The spokesperson said that Cristal Hotels & Resorts will continue its expansion plans in Iraq, where it already operates the Cristal Grand Ishtar and the Cristal Erbil Hotel.
It is set to launch its three-star brand Emerald in Erbil in the near future.
The 307-room Cristal Grand Ishtar, reflagged from a Sheraton just 18 months ago, is a popular business hotel and the tallest building in Baghdad.
It has three F&B outlets, along with conference and event facilities and an Olympic Sized outdoor pool and gym facilities.
The bombings come after Iraqi authorities lifted a decade-old night curfew in Baghdad earlier this year, as they sought to restore a sense of normality to the capital, Sky News reported.
On 17 May, insurgents seized the city of Ramadi, about 70 miles (100km) west of Baghdad, in the most significant military setback to the government since a US-led coalition launched a campaign of airstrikes against Isis last August.
Isis also opened a five star luxury hotel in Iraq earlier this year. The 262-key hotel in Mosul was re-opened by militant group ISIS with a firework display and plenty of social media exposure.
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