Iraqi al Qaeda group claims to have hit Green Zone

10 Jan 2012 13:48 Source: Reuters // Reuters BAGHDAD, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Al Qaeda's affiliate in Iraq has claimed responsibility for a rare attack inside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone in November that killed one person and wounded six, a group that monitors online communication among insurgents said. A suicide bomber in a car penetrated the Green Zone, which houses the U.S. and other embassies as well as parliament and some ministries, and blew up himself in the carpark of the Iraqi parliament on Nov. 28. Iraqi authorities have said the attack may have targeted Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki or another political leader. The U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group said the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group for al Qaeda-linked Sunni insurgents, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on Islamist websites on Sunday. According to SITE, ISI said it discovered a "loophole" in the Green Zone's security allowing the attacker to penetrate past checkpoints, bomb-sniffing dogs and security cameras. The group also claimed responsibility for a suicide car bomb attack on the Interior Ministry on Dec. 26 in which at least seven people were killed. It said the attack had been carried out in support of Sunni prisoners. Iraq is less violent than at the height of sectarian war in 2006-07, but still plagued by a lethal Sunni insurgency and Shi'ite militias, and bombings and killings occur daily. Tensions have been mounting since U.S. troops withdrew on Dec. 18. Maliki's Shi'ite-led government has tried to arrest a Sunni vice president and fire a Sunni deputy prime minister, provoking the fears of a return of more sectarian violence. On Monday, two bombs targeting Shi'ite pilgrims killed 15 people and wounded 52 others. At least 73 people were killed in bomb attacks in mainly Shi'ite Muslim areas last Thursday. A series of bombs in mainly Shi'ite districts of Baghdad on Dec. 22 killed 72 people. Al Qaeda in Iraq has been weakened by deaths of leaders but there are fears the group will try to regroup and strengthen its presence following the withdrawal of U.S. troops on Dec. 18. (Reporting by Suadad al-Salhy; Editing by Serena Chaudhry)