Baghdad (CNN) -- A militant group with links to al Qaeda claimed responsibility for a deadly wave of bombings across Iraq, strikes designed to undermine government security plans for the upcoming Arab League summit.The Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group that includes al Qaeda in Iraq, made the claim in a statement posted on an al Qaeda website. The explosions killed 45 people and wounded hundreds Tuesday.
Occurring on the ninth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the attacks were "coordinated" and launched by "Sunni lions" in Baghdad and other provinces "simultaneously," the online statement said. Sunni lions is an adulatory reference to militants.
The bombings were meant to target the security plan "of the government of fools inside the Green Zone, in preparation of the meeting of Arab tyrants in Baghdad," the statement said. The country is hosting the next Arab League summit March 29. Read More
