At least one person has been killed in an explosion outside a Baghdad hotel. The blast hit the Shaheen hotel near the banks of the River Tigris and close to the former US embassy at around 0630 (0330 GMT). Black smoke was seen pouring from the hotel as dazed guests emptied out onto the streets. It comes a day after six American troops, two CNN employees and two Iraqi civilians were killed in violence in and around the Iraqi capital. The US military said at least one Iraqi was killed and several injured, while Iraqi police spokesman Ahmed Abdul Karim said at least three people had been killed. A Reuters correspondent at the scene of the blast said it appeared to have been caused by a car bomb. "It blew out the whole front of the hotel and there are at least five burnt out cars scattered around. There are also several bodies," he said. Mr Abdul Karim said witnesses said the bomb was hidden in an ambulance which was driven at the hotel at high speed. A police post across the road was also hit by the blast. The hotel is said to be popular with foreign business people. US military forces have sealed off the area in the Karrada district and rescuers are searching for people trapped in the rubble. On 1 January, eight people were killed when a car bomb tore through a restaurant in Karrada.