Al-Qaida front group claims responsibility for Iraq bank bombing that killed at least 18

Al-Qaida front group says it bombed Baghdad bank

BAGHDAD — An al-Qaida front group has claimed responsibility for the bombing of the Trade Bank of Iraq earlier this week that killed at least 18 people.

The Islamic State of Iraq says in a statement on its website that its militants targeted the state-run financial center as a strike against the stalled government. The statement was posted on Wednesday.

The group called the bank a stronghold of evil.

It also gloated about its ease in penetrating security measures meant to protect the bank, which was established to attract foreign investment in the wake of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Suicide bombers detonated two cars packed with explosives outside the bank on Monday.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s prime minister has accepted the resignation of his electricity minister as searing summer heat across the country continued to highlight the dangers and anger spurred by frequent power outages, government officials said Wednesday.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki could pick a new electricity minister as early as Wednesday, his spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, told The Associated Press.

Three other advisers said Al-Maliki signed off late Tuesday on the resignation offer of Electricity Minister Karim Waheed. The minister offered to step down on Monday.

Besieged with summertime temperatures that have topped 120 degrees, tempers among Iraqis are rising over the government’s failure to provide reliable electricity.

Many Iraqis get fewer than six hours of electricity each day, despite billions of dollars that have been spent trying to fix the nation’s power grid since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. That has prompted protests in Iraq’s southern cities in recent days as citizens wilt under lengthy power and water outages.

A weekend protest in the oil hub city of Basra turned deadly when two demonstrators were killed after security forces opened fire on the rowdy crowd.

Al-Maliki has urged Iraqis to be patient, saying it will likely take up to two years for the electricity grid to be fixed. But the ministry overhaul signals his recognition that the power shortages cast doubt on his ability to run the country at a time when he is struggling to hold on to his job following inconclusive parliamentary elections in March. Al-Maliki has been in office since May 2006.

Al-Dabbagh said Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani was a top contender to run the electricity ministry on a temporary basis until parliament selects a permanent replacement to Waheed.

Parliament is next scheduled to meet on July 14.