Baghdad (CNN) -- An al-Qaeda affiliate claimed responsibility Wednesday for a chain of 24 bombings and two gun attacks in Iraq a day earlier, as the death toll rose to 61. A statement attributed to the Islamic State of Iraq appeared on extremist websites, calling Tuesday's carnage "retaliation" against Shiite members in government. Though Iraq has grown safer in the last six years, sectarian violence and instability still grip the country 10 years after the start of the U.S.-led war. The attacks -- 17 car bombs, seven roadside bombs, and two shootings -- ripped mostly through Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad, but also struck Sunni communities in other towns. At least 200 people were wounded.
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Islamic State of Iraq statement says the 61 deaths are 'retaliation'
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The statement lambasted Shiites in government
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The attacks come 10 years after the U.S.-led invasion began
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Recent attacks in Shiite areas have spread fear among Iraqis
They demand that the Shiite-led government stop what they call negative treatment of Iraq's @placeholder community.