DUBAI (Reuters) – The Iraqi arm of al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack this week on the Baghdad office of satellite television channel Al Arabiya, and warned of further strikes on media targets.

"We assume responsibility for the attack on this corrupted channel," the Islamic State of Iraq, an al Qaeda affiliate, said in a statement on an Islamist website.

The group said it would not hesitate to target media organizations and pursue their members "as long as they persist to be a tool in the war against Allah and His Messenger".

On Monday, a suicide bomber killed at least four people in an attack on the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya news channel, security officials said.

Dubai-based Al Arabiya also said four people were killed, while an Iraqi interior ministry source put the death toll at six and said about 20 others were wounded.