Baghdad ? An al-Qaida front group claimed Friday that it carried out triple suicide bombings outside foreign embassies, underscoring U.S. and Iraqi fears the terror group is attempting to make a comeback.

The bombings were part of a wave of attacks over the last week that claimed about 120 lives in and around Baghdad, which al-Qaida in Iraq appears to have designated its battleground to drag the country into civil war.

National security officials in Baghdad and Washington said the terror network is looking to exploit political chaos left by the disputed March 7 parliamentary elections to regroup. The unrelenting violence also has cast doubt on the abilities of Iraqi security forces that are responsible for protecting the country while American forces begin to head home.