Al-Qaeda Branch Claims Responsibility for Recent Bomb Blasts in Iraq

An al-Qaeda militant group in Iraq on Wednesday claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s wave of bombings in central Iraq which left 60 people killed.

An on-line statement from the so-called Islamic State of Iraq group said, “What you received Tuesday was only the first stage, which by God’s willing will be followed by revenge for those whom you executed.”

The statement also said Tuesday’s assaults were a response to Iraqi Minister of Justice Hassan al-Shammari’s pledge to speed up executions of terrorists after his office building was attacked on Thursday, Xinhua reported.

The authenticity of the statement cannot be immediately verified.

On Tuesday, a wave of deadly bombings mainly struck Shiite areas in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad and nearby towns, killing up to 60 people and wounding more than 200.