Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari says his ministry has provided UN special envoy Oscar Fernandez-Taranco with security and intelligence information on the recent Baghdad bombings.

“Those who stand behind the Baghdad bombings on August 19 are the same people who launched the attacks on October 25 to hamper the ministries and the government's departments,” Zebari told Aswat al-Iraq news agency on Thursday.

“We provided him with all the information which was not published in the media. We have not accused any country, but evidence asserts that former Baathists and al-Qaeda were involved in the attacks,” he explained.

Assistant UN Secretary-General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco was dispatched to Baghdad in response to a request from the government of Iraq to discuss a fresh wave of terrorist attacks in the Iraqi capital against prominent security figures. The senior UN official did not launch an investigation, as a formal probe would require a clear mandate from the Security Council.

The twin terrorist bombings in the heart of Baghdad claimed 153 civilian lives and left more than 500 others injured on October 25. The attack struck the Justice Ministry and the Baghdad provincial governorate.

An al-Qaeda-linked group claimed responsibility for the blasts. The militant group, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, said in a statement posted on the Internet that its "martyrs... targeted the dens of infidelity."

The recent Baghdad carnage was the deadliest in two years and raised more concerns about the Iraqi government's ability to protect itself, as it prepares for the January parliamentary elections and the US military withdrawal.

More than 100 civilian lives were also lost on August 19 when a wave of explosions ripped through Baghdad's civilian and diplomatic areas close to government buildings, including the Foreign Ministry.

Iraqi authorities blame al-Qaeda operatives and supporters of Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath party for the attacks against the Justice Ministry and the Baghdad provincial governorate and the August 19 bombings that devastated the Foreign and Finance Ministries.

The Baghdad government has accused neighboring Syria of providing a safe haven for terrorist Baathists.

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