Iraq bombings linked to al-Qaeda
Deadly plastic explosives used by suicide bombers in the coordinated series of attacks in Baghdad this week indicate Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda terror network was behind the latest atrocities, according to an unnamed US official.
The FBI believes the explosives used in the attacks on the International Red Cross headquarters and four Iraqi police stations originated outside of Iraq.
The attacks killed three dozen people and wounded more than 200.
The official said the attacks marked a new drive to imperil the lives of US soldiers and drive them out of Baghdad.
The official added that the bombings shared similarities with al Qaeda’s May 12 bombings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“We’re looking at that as the start of something that may be forewarning of future events,” the official said.
The four bombings on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan killed 40 people and were the bloodiest attack on coalition troops since the end of the hostilities.
Meanwhile the Pentagon said on Wednesday that former Iraqi General Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri was financing and orchestrating attacks against US troops in Iraqi.
He is believed to have collaborated with Saddam Hussein’s loyalists and foreign fighters.
