Less than a month after parliamentary elections, Iraq has begun to brace for civil war.

Officials said the resurgence of suicide bombings and other violence could mark the start of a civil war that would pit Sunnis against Shi'ites and Kurds in Iraq. They said the Sunnis have sought to infiltrate and control the nation's security forces to support such an effort.

On Jan. 8, the Iraqi Defense Ministry issued a statement that warned of a civil war between the nation's three main ethnic communities. The ministry said the war could be sparked by the current outbreak of terrorism.

After a lull of more than a month, Sunni insurgents have launched a wave of suicide bombings, mostly in the Baghdad area. So far, about 250 people have been killed over the last week.