Qaeda claims responsibility for Iraqi parliament blast, it targeted PM

Al-Qaeda on Tuesday claimed responsibility for the November bombing of the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, saying that the blast was meant to kill the country’s prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki. Politicians said that the group’s delay in taking responsibility for the attack for more than seven weeks after its occurrence indicated that al-Qaeda wanted to exacerbate and weaken the Iraqi political process. Mohammed al-Khidhri, an expert in security and military issues, said “the first possibility is that Qaeda was the actual executor of the operation, but without doubt [Qaeda] must have been dependent on one political side that made it capable to reach such a fortified place.” The second possibility, according to al-Khadhri, is that “this political side is the one who directly executed the operation as per Qaeda agendas and other forces who are against the Iraqi political process from being successful.” Though the investigation of the blast is far from complete, Qaeda’s statement confirms some intelligence released by Iraq’s interior ministry last month that indicated al-Maliki was the target. Talal al-Zawobai, a member of parliament from the Sunni-backed secular Iraqiya List, said that “Qaeda claiming responsibility will increase anxiety, and confirms that neither the government nor the group are detailed in explaining the attack or who was behind it.” Iraq’s vice president, Tariq al-Hashimi, who is wanted by authorities in connection with the bombing, is a member of Iraqiya. Saad al-Mutlabi, a member of parliament from the State of Law Coalition, which Maliki belongs to, said, “in the law coalition there is an assertive believe that Qaeda targets the Iraqi political process, and on top of that, the prime minister.” “According to intelligence information derived from the defense ministry and the ministerial investigative Committee, there are two cells, one in Baghdad and another in Ramadi, who were planning and executed this operation,” al-Mutlabi added. The defense ministry did not respond to questions from Al Arabiya. Qaeda taking responsibility for the blast will not make things any easier on Hashimi, because he is charged with other crimes, including running a death squad that carried out attacks against Shiite officials. Hashim is currently under protection in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region. He said he rejects the idea of standing trial in Baghdad, describing the judicial system there as not independent, but that and that he would not mind appearing in a Kurdistan court. Last week, Baghdad called on Kurdistan to hand over the vice president, a request that has not been fulfilled. Al Arabiya