Qaeda group claims blast at TV offices in Iraq

Qaeda group claims blast at TV offices in Iraq

Updated at: 0555 PST,  Thursday, July 29, 2010
 WASHINGTON: An Al-Qaeda group on Wednesday claimed responsibility for this week's deadly car bomb attack on a television's offices in Baghdad that killed four people, US monitors said.

"The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), the Al-Qaeda-front in Iraq, claimed responsibility for the July 26th suicide bombing that struck the offices of a television in Baghdad," the SITE monitoring group said, citing a statement seen on jihadist web forums.

"The ISI boasted that despite the enemy allegedly having advance knowledge of the operation, a suicide bomber managed to carry out the attack anyway, inflicting heavy damage on the offices and surrounding buildings," SITE said.

The group further "warned that they will not hesitate to target any media organization that insists on being a tool in the 'war on Allah and His Messenger,'" SITE said.

The suicide car bomber struck at around 9:30 am (0630 GMT) Monday in front of the station's bureau in the city center, leaving a massive crater and sending a plume of smoke into the air that could be seen from several kilometers (miles) away.

The blast, which killed four people, came a month after the Saudi-funded channel was warned of insurgent threats.