Qaeda in Iraq vows more attacks on media organizations
The Iraqi arm of al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack this week on the Baghdad office of satellite television channel Al Arabiya, and warned of further strikes on media targets.
"We assume responsibility for the attack on this corrupted channel," the Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaeda affiliate," said in a statement on an Islamist website, according to the SITE monitoring group.
"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 opposes their radical violent activities, 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.