NOT HELPFUL

An Iraqi insurgent group claimed responsibility Wednesday for suicide attacks on the offices of two Kurdish political parties, saying they were targeted because of the Kurds' ties to the United States. More than 100 died.

"Two of our martyrdom-seeking brothers ... broke into two dens of the devils in the city of Irbil in the north of Iraq," said the statement by "Jaish Ansar al-Sunna," or "Army of the Protectors of the Sunna." Sunna refers to the collective teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.

The statement was posted in Arabic on a Web site that frequently carries statements by Islamic militants. It said the attacks Sunday were launched because the two Kurdish parties "paved the way for the American crusader army."

The name of the organization was included among those of a dozen insurgent groups that issued a joint statement this week in Ramadi and Fallujah warning Iraqis against cooperating with the U.S.-led occupation.