Qaeda front group claims Iraq Eid attacks

Al-Qaeda’s front group in Iraq claimed responsibility on Monday for a series of shootings and bombings over the Eid al-Adha holiday that killed dozens of people nationwide. The Islamic State of Iraq said the attacks over the four-day Muslim holiday from Friday were in response to the purported arrest of Sunni Arab women by Iraqi security forces in an effort to locate their wanted male relatives. Attacks over the Eid al-Adha holiday have so far claimed 44 lives and left more than 150 people wounded, with the worst of the violence striking on Saturday when 31 people were killed. Such attacks are attempts by the insurgent groups to stir up sectarian strife among Iraqis to push the country to the brink of a civil war.