CAIRO, Dec. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- Al-Qaida terror group in Iraq claimed responsibility on Tuesday for deadly twin suicide bomb attacks in an Iraqi police academy in eastern Baghdad which killed 37 people, according to an Internet statement.

    "Two of our brave warriors carried out attacks on a police academy in Baghdad," said the statement, adding that the suicide bombings were aimed at "destroying the facilities that train collaborators" with the US occupation forces.

    The authenticity of the statement, posted on a website often used by Iraq's al-Qaida group, cannot be verified.

    Earlier in the day, two suicide bombers wearing explosive vests blew themselves up at a police academy filled with students in eastern Baghdad.

    An Interior Ministry source said 37 people were killed and 76 others wounded, including foreigners who helped train the police students when the blasts occurred.
    
    The bloody attacks came as the trial of Iraq's former president Saddam Hussein and his seven top aides for charges of crimes against humanity continued on Tuesday in the heavily-fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad.

    The al-Qaida group in Iraq, led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has been a driving force behind violent insurgency against the US occupation in Iraq.

    The group has claimed responsibility for many deadly attacks in the country. Enditem