Across Asia: Iraq

Al-Qaida claims blasts

Al-Qaida's umbrella group in Iraq claimed responsibility for the twin suicide bombings in the heart of Baghdad that killed at least 155 people, including 24 children trapped in a bus leaving a day care center.

The Al-Qaida branch, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, said in a statement posted on the Internet late on Monday that its "martyrs ... targeted the dens of infidelity."