Maliki: Sunni Groups Planning More Attacks

Speaking today on Iraqi state television, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned that he had information that al-Qaeda and former Ba’athists were plotting a new series of bombings with the help of “foreign backers.”

Maliki’s warning comes just two days after a massive series of coordinated attacks across Iraq which left at least 92 people, including many security forces, killed and nearly 400 others wounded.

Indeed even without any specific evidence that such an attack is in the offing it is probably not a bad bet, as violence has been rising precipitously over the past several months and major attacks like this are getting more and more common.

The claim of “foreign backers,” however, likely is a shot against Maliki’s long-standing rivals in Syria. Maliki has blamed Syria for a number of previous attacks, and the Syrian government is said to be pushing for the next Iraqi government to cut Maliki’s State of Law bloc out entirely.