Al Qaeda takes responsibilty for Iraq mass murders

Guardian:

The al-Qaida umbrella group in Iraq has claimed responsibility for Sunday's double suicide bombing in Baghdad in which at least 155 people were killed.

In a statement posted on a website often used by militants, the Islamic State of Iraq said "martyrs ... targeted the dens of infidelity".

More than 700 people were injured in the attacks, which destroyed the justice ministry and severely damaged the Baghdad governorate and a public works building.

The dead included two dozen children who had been leaving a daycare centre in a bus.

The Islamic State of Iraq also claimed responsibility for an almost identical attack which destroyed the finance and foreign ministries, in roughly the same area of the capital, just over two months ago.

The bombing killedg 132 people and injured just under 500.

The militant group had pledged to wreak further havoc in a bid to destabilise Iraq's fragile government prior to a national election planned for 16 January.

...

Al Qaeda is no longer a threat to the government of Iraq. It is a threat to non combatants who happen to be in an area the group targets for media events in a vain attempt to prove they are still relevant.