Al-Qaida claim bomb attack

AN al-Qaida linked group claimed responsibility for the twin suicide bombings in the heart of Baghdad that killed at least 155 people as Iraq’s political leadership yesterday stepped up efforts to agree on new voting guidelines ahead of January elections.

The militant group known as the Islamic State of Iraq said in a statement posted on the Internet late Monday that its “martyrs ... targeted the dens of infidelity.”

The attack struck the Justice Ministry and the Baghdad Provincial Administration.