Al-Qaeda claims hand in Iraq attacks

The al-Qaeda militant group in Iraq on Wednesday claimed responsibility for a spate of deadly bomb attacks across Iraq Tuesday which killed and wounded more than 250. The self-styled Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), an al-Qaeda front in Iraq, confirmed in a statement posted on an Islamic website that the attacks were designed to hit Iraq's security plan ahead of the Arab League (AL) summit scheduled to be held in late March in Baghdad. "In a new coordinated wave, the lions of Sunnis in Baghdad and other ISI states simultaneously carried out strikes against the security plan announced by the government of the fools in the Green Zone in preparation for the meeting of the Arab tyrants in Baghdad," the statement said. It said that attackers surprised the "enemy" in the targets that were identified as government headquarters, security centres, Shiite areas, senior Shiite leaders and their Sunni allies. The authenticity of the statement could not be immediately verified. On Tuesday, at least 45 people were killed and some 212 wounded in a wave of bomb and gunfire attacks mostly targeting Iraqi security forces across Iraq, in what appeared to be an attempt by insurgent groups to destabilise the country ahead of the Arab summit scheduled on March 29. Earlier, Iraqi officials confirmed that the summit will be held under unprecedented security measures in the Iraqi capital, as dozens of thousands of Iraqi security forces will be deployed across Baghdad and other Iraqi cities. "There will be between 70,000 to 100,000 security members being deployed in Baghdad to secure the capital during the summit," Maj. Gen. Hassan al-Baydhani, top officer in Baghdad Operations Command who is responsible for security of the capital, told reporters. He said that reinforcement troops have been moved to Baghdad from southern and northern Iraqi provinces to deploy in the capital for the summit. However, observers here also see that Tuesday's attacks were designed to show that the security situation can easily deteriorate in the Iraqi cities as hundreds of dignitaries and journalists are expected to converge on Baghdad next week for the Arab summit. The attacks came on the ninth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq that toppled the former leader Saddam Hussein and just days before Baghdad Arab summit, as the Iraqi government confirmed it has completed its preparation for the summit and is ready to receive the Arab leaders on March 29. Iraq sees the summit as a significant milestone in its history that would lead the country to play a powerful and positive role in the Arab world.