Qaeda-linked group claims Iraq blasts

Al-Qaedas umbrella group in Iraq has claimed responsibility for the coordinated Baghdad bombings that killed 127 people and wounded over 500 on Tuesday.

The group,known as the Islamic State of Iraq,said in a statement posted early on Thursday on the Internet that the strikes in the Iraqi capital targeted the bastions of evil and dens of apostates. It also warns the group is determined to uproot the pillars of this government in Iraq.

The list of targets will not end,with permission from Allah,until the flag of monotheism is raised once against on the land of Baghdad and the Sharia of Allah rules the land and the worshippers, it said.

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The blasts on Tuesday were the third major strike on government sites in Baghdad since August. The same group has claimed responsibility for the two previous massive bombings. The authenticity of the statement could not be independently confirmed.

Meanwhile,Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has sacked Baghdads security chief Lieutenant General Abboud Qanbar.

US Defence Secretary Robert M Gates landed in Baghdad on Thursday on an unannounced visit to meet with Prime Minister Nouri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq and to consult with American military commanders as they prepare for withdrawals of American forces beginning in the spring.

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al Qaeda
Iraq

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