Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate Saturday claimed responsibility for a siege at a provincial council headquarters in Saddam Hussein's hometown in which 58 people were killed. Tuesday's attack in Tikrit, a former stronghold of Al-Qaeda, was the deadliest this year. The assailants, who wore security uniforms and set off bombs, stormed the building and grabbed hostages, local officials said. Hostages who did not die as a result of explosions were executed, they said. In a statement on a website the Islamic State of Iraq said the attack was a response to “crimes committed against prisoners.”
