DUBAI, (AFP) – Al-Qaeda has said it was behind a wave of attacks across Iraq during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a US monitoring group said on Saturday.

Al-Qaeda front group, the Islamic State of Iraq, said that during “the month of fasting and jihad” it launched a “new earth-shaking wave” in its campaign of violence, the SITE Intelligence Group said.

In the statement posted on Islamist forums on Friday, the militants said they targeted “headquarters, centres and security barriers for the army and apostate police.”

On Wednesday, more than a dozen apparently coordinated car bombs targeting Iraqi police and other attacks blamed on Al-Qaeda hit 10 cities and towns around the country, killing 53 people and wounding hundreds.

Iraq has witnessed an upsurge in violence during Ramadan, when insurgents typically step up their activity.

The spike in unrest has triggered concern that Iraqi forces are not yet ready to handle security on their own, just days before the US military ends its combat mission in Iraq, and with no new government formed in Baghdad since a March 7 general election.