He outlined how al Qaeda in Iraq, officially called the Islamic State of Iraq, had cells in Syria that were reinforced with fighters from Iraq who helped draw "plans and policies" for the Syrian branch.

WSJ: Al Qaeda Declares Stake in Syrian Rebellion

"The operation was in response to the repression of the Shiite criminal government and its policies against the Sunnis in Baghdad's neighborhoods of raids and arrests, displacement, killing, humiliation and violation of our women and livelihoods, seizing the land and the wealth of the Sunnis, " the Islamic State of Iraq said in a statement, which surfaced on militant websites.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

The blasts were meant to target the security plan "of the government of fools inside the Green Zone, in preparation of the meeting of Arab tyrants in Baghdad, " said a statement from the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group that includes al Qaeda in Iraq.

CNN: Arab League summit aims to showcase 'the new Iraq'