An al-Qaeda-affiliated group on Monday claimed responsibility for a wave of coordinated attacks across Iraq which killed at least 88 people, the group announced in a statement posted on Islamist websites, reported dpa.
The group, the Islamic State of Iraq, said that the attacks came in response to "an organized torture and liquidation campaign suffered by Sunni prisoners in government jails and in revenge for the lives lost at the hands of Shiites infidels."
The attacks, which targeted government forces, as well as mostly Shiite neighbourhoods, injured 250 people.
"The mujahideen - thanks to God and Him alone - were able to reach their targets despite security alert by the government," read the statement.