Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, has never tired of emphasising his security achievements.

Recent calm in Iraq has given al-Maliki's new electoral coalition list a massive lead over his rivals ahead of the parliamentary elections in January next year.

But the bombings of bloody Wednesday last August in Baghdad and more recently the twin suicide bombings that killed over 150 people in Baghdad on Sunday October 25 have raised doubts about security.

How come high risk targets are still susceptible to attack? Could these bombings cost al-Maliki dearly in the January elections?

Jasim Azzawi discusses with guests: Michael Corbin, the US deputy assistant secretary of state for the bureau of near Eastern affairs, and Mithal al-Alusi, the head of the Iraqi Nation Party.

This episode of Inside Iraq can be seen from Friday, October 30, 2009 at the following times GMT: Friday: 1730, 2230; Saturday: 0300, 0830; Sunday: 0600, 1230 and Monday: 0130.