A huge blast took place near a hotel used by the American occupation forces in central Baghdad on Sunday, witnesses told Reuters. Initial reports said at least 10 people killed and more than 60 were wounded. The witnesses said they saw a car ablaze at the Baghdad Hotel, believed to be CIA headquarters. Additionally, members of the Iraqi interim council, members of the constitutional committee and ministers are also residing at the hotel. One of the police officers said that the current number of injured people is at 60. Ambulances rushed to the scene. An Iraqi eyewitness said two cars tried to enter a side street leading from Saadoun Street to the Baghdad Hotel, but both exploded. The blast came just one day after US President Bush said that "Iraq is making progress" despite a steady drumbeat of bad news. Bush said that progress was coming as a result of his "clear strategy." In his weekly radio address, Bush said Iraq is a place where markets are bustling, shelves are full, oil is flowing and satellite dishes are sprouting up. "Since the liberation of that country, thousands of new businesses have been launched," Bush said. "With our assistance, Iraqis are building the roads and ports and railways necessary for commerce." **Call for US to Exit Iraq*** Meanwhile, a conference of government leaders from the world's Islamic nations has begun with a call to end "foreign rule" in Iraq. Instead the United Nations should take over the administration of Iraqi affairs, said the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) secretary-general Abdelouahed Belkeziz. The conference of the 57-member OIC is taking place in Malaysia and comes ahead of next week's summit, when heads of state from up to 35 countries are set to gather. The summit will be the first since the al-Qaeda attacks on the United States in September 2001. **Face of the storm*** Addressing the start of the conference on Saturday, Mr Belkeziz said of all the conflicts involving Muslims, the occupation of Iraq and the Palestinian problem needed to be addressed most urgently. "Foremost of these is the eviction of foreign forces from Iraq, allowing the United Nations to administer Iraqi affairs," He told senior officials the Islamic world had been "in the face of the storm" in the three years since the last triennial summit in 2000. As far as Iraq was concerned, he said the people there had "been afflicted by the occupation of their territories, usurpation of their sovereignty, denial of their independence, destruction, plunder and burning of their country". He called for Islamic commitment to address the situation following the US-led invasion "with a view to salvaging Iraq and helping its people". In his speech Mr Belkeziz also condemned Israel for what he said was its failure to live up to peace process commitments. "It [Israel] continues to be entrenched in its illegal practices of punishing the Palestinian people," he said. The eight-day OIC conference - which ends after the world leaders depart from the summit - should also discuss major challenges to Muslims arising from terrorism and globalisation and "campaigns against Islam, Muslims and human rights," he said. **PHOTO CAPTION*** A wide view of the scene after a huge explosion, believed to be caused by a car bomb that rocked central Baghdad, is seen in this image from video on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2003 near the Baghdad Hotel. (AP Photo/APTN)