Al Qaeda in Iraq conducted two successful high profile suicide bombings in the heart of Baghdad yesterday. The first attack occurred in a cafe at the Iraqi Parliament. The second occurred on the Jisr al-Hadeed bridge, which crosses the Tigris river. This attack destroyed the bridge and killed over 25 people. Al Qaeda in Iraq claimed credit for the Parliament attack on the website of its proxy political front, the Islamic State of Iraq. This news comes as cracks are emerging between al Qaeda and the Islamic Army of Iraq.

Yesterday's attacks in Baghdad were the first major suicide attacks in the capital since a market was hit on March 29. The Parliament attack was by far the most visible and symbolic attack. One member of Parliament, Sunni politician Mohammed Awadh, was killed, and seven MPs were among the 22 wounded after a suicide bomber detonated his vest in the center of a cafe adjacent to the Parliament.

The bodyguard of an undisclosed parliamentarian was likely responsible for the parliament attack. The breach of security is a cause for major concern, as this is not the first time weapons have made it past the security cordon. "Two suicide vests were discovered inside the Green Zone on April 1, setting off a massive search for additional bombs," Richard Miniter reported from Baghdad.

The bodyguards of Sunni politicians have been implicated in working with the insurgency and al Qaeda in the past. Iraqi and Coalition forces have conducted two high profile raids on the compounds of Sunni parliamentarians this year alone. In both instances, illegal weapons and explosives were found. A raid on Dhafer al Ani's compound on March 8 netted weapons, including a sniper rifle "inscribed with a verse from the Koran. . .a slogan popular with insurgents." Traces of explosives were also found in the vehicles of his bodyguards. Seven of Ani's bodyguards were detained, though all but one were subsequently released. On January 1, the office of Salih al Mutlaq, the chairman of the Iraqi National Dialogue Council, was raided by Coalition forces. Six of Mutlaq's bodyguard were killed during the raid on what the Coalition described as a "terrorist safe house."

Al Qaeda in Iraq has been attempting to conduct a 'mini-Tet' offensive in Baghdad for well over a year. The terror group believes a high profile assault on the Green Zone will destroy any remaining U.S. support for the war in Iraq. Several plots to attack the Green Zone have been uncovered over the past year. In November of 2006, a bomb placed under a vehicle of Mahmoud al- Mashhadani, the speaker of Parliament, exploded inside the Green Zone.

As al Qaeda in Iraq struck at Sunni politicians in Baghdad, the Islamic Army in Iraq, the largest Sunni insurgent group, which has previously operated closely with al Qaeda, severed ties with the terror group after several months of infighting. Al Jazeera reported that Ibrahim al-Shammari, an Islamic Army in Iraq spokesman, "told Al Jazeera on Thursday that the Islamic Army in Iraq had decided to disunite from al-Qaeda in Iraq after its members were threatened."