Baghdad (dpa) – An al-Qaeda-affiliated group claimed responsibility for a wave of bloody attacks across Iraq's capital Baghdad last week, which killed at least 70 people and injured scores of others, Al Sumaria News website reported Tuesday. The coordinated attacks, which hit mostly Shiite neighborhoods, involved 13 car bombs and roadside explosives. The group, the Islamic State of Iraq, said in an statement posted on Islamist websites that it had targeted security headquarters and military patrols. It also said that “the series of special invasions (was) launched … to support the weak Sunnis in the prisons of the apostates and to retaliate for the captives who were executed.” The group, which views the Shiite-dominated government as a strong ally of Iran, vowed to carry out more attacks in the coming period. “The Islamic State of Iraq knows where and when to strike and the mujahedeen (warriors) will never stand with their hands idle,” while “Iran's malicious project reveals its ugly face,” making clear what it wants to do with Sunnis in Iraq. Last weeks attacks have coincided with rising political tensions between the Shiite majority and the Sunni minority, raising fears the country could slide into sectarian violence that had peaked in 2006. The attacks were the first large-scale attacks after the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. The Islamic State of Iraq is an umbrella organization made up of insurgent groups linked to al-Qaeda. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/NKCfx Tags: Al Qaeda, Baghdad, Bombs Section: Iraq, Latest News
