BAGHDAD - The Iraqi branch of Al Qaeda claimed responsibility Friday for bombings that killed at least 30 people in the capital and across the country the day before, the worst wave of violence in weeks.
A statement posted on a militant website said the attacks aimed to punish the Shi’ite-led government - and those who cooperate with it - for injustices against Sunnis. The statement was signed by the Islamic State of Iraq, a Sunni militant group linked to Al Qaeda.
The attacks came amid ongoing - and largely sectarian - tensions between Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shi’ite, and political opponents who demand more power in the government. Hours after the attacks, some Sunni and Kurdish lawmakers denounced the bloodshed as a tragic but inevitable result of the Shi’ite-led government’s attempts to sideline them and dominate Iraqi politics.
Al Qaeda said the Thursday morning wave that struck 10 cities across Iraq, killing at least 30 and wounding 117, was the beginning of a prolonged series of attacks. Six of the bombings struck at security forces and government officials, frequent targets for insurgents.
In Baghdad, 12 people were killed. Other targets were in northern cities, including Samarra, where a 2006 mosque bombing touched off the worst of the insurgency; Kirkuk; and deposed dictator Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit.