Al-Qaeda claims deadly attacks on Iraqi cities

Residents gather at the site of a bomb attack in Samarra, 100 km (62 miles) north of Baghdad February 24, 2012. A car bomb killed one people and wounded three in Samarra, 100 km (62 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. (Reuters Pictures)

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's al-Qaida branch has claimed responsibility for the latest wave of bombings and other attacks that killed dozens in Baghdad and across the country, raising concerns over the government's ability to provide security after the U.S. troop pullout.

The Islamic State of Iraq said in an Internet message late Thursday that it targeted security forces and government officials in "revenge for the elimination and torture campaigns that Sunni men and women face in the prisons of Baghdad and other cities."

Iraq's Shiite-led government has executed at least 68 prisoners so far this year, a rate that has alarmed human rights groups. Additionally, last fall Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, ordered detentions of hundreds of former Saddam Hussein loyalists, most of whom were believed to be Sunni.

Thursday's attacks killed a total of 55 people and wounded 225, increasing fears of a new surge in sectarian violence two months after the American military pulled out.

"These operations were synchronized and their targets were accurately surveyed and chosen, including security headquarters, military patrols and senior security, judicial and administrative officials," al-Qaida said in the statement posted on militant websites.

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