Al-Qaeda's umbrella group in Iraq has claimed responsibility for co-ordinated Baghdad bombings this week that killed 127 people and wounded more than 500.
The group, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, said in a statement posted on the Internet that the strikes in the Iraqi capital targeted the "bastions of evil and dens of apostates."
It also warned the group is "determined to uproot the pillars of this government" in Iraq and said "the list of targets has no end." The authenticity of the statement could not be independently verified, but it was posted on a website commonly used for militant messaging.
Tuesday's attack was the third major strike against government sites in the Iraqi capital since August, raising serious questions about the abilities of Iraqi security forces ahead of next's year national elections and the withdrawal of US combat troops.
Iraq's prime minister Nouri al-Maliki was expected to attend a special parliamentary session today where Iraq's senior security officials will appear to answer questions over security lapses that allowed the attacks.
Al-Qaeda's claim gave renewed emphasis to US military warnings that insurgents would likely continue high-profile attacks in an attempt to destabilise the Iraqi government in advance of the March parliamentary elections.
Mr Al-Maliki, who has been under fire in recent days from lawmakers and others to address security lapses, signaled the beginning of a possible security shake up late Wednesday after replacing the military chief in charge of Baghdad security.
It was unclear whether al-Maliki might take further action, or whether his interior and defense ministers would even attend the special session. Both ministers have refused to attend two other sessions called after suicide bombings against government buildings on August 19th and October 25th. More than 250 were killed in those attacks.
Iraq has claimed al-Qaeda and loyalists of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party operating from Syria were behind the massive strikes in August and October and as well as the most recent bombings. Relations between the two countries soured after Baghdad accused Syria of harboring senior Baathists who masterminded the attacks. Syria has denied it.
But the US has said the August and October strikes bore the signature of al-Qaeda, known for suicide and vehicle-rigged bombings designed to inflict huge casualties that have tried to fuel sectarian tensions and push the country back to the Sunni-Shia violence of 2006 and 2007 that brought Iraq to the brink of civil war.
The three massive attacks in the Iraqi capital, though, have differed from previous attacks because they hit government symbols and appeared aimed at having a far-reaching political impact, further undermining the government.
Al-Qaeda also claimed responsibility today in a separate internet posting for last week's killing of Ahmed Subhi al-Fahal, known by al-Qaeda and the American military as one of central Iraq's top counter-terror officials.
The posting said an Iraqi martyrdom seeker "strapped with his explosive belt and went looking for his prey and after long waiting and patience, his eyes met the criminal faces" and detonated his explosives among them killing him and four other officers with him.