BAGHDAD — Iraq's prime minister said Saturday that insurgents will likely intensify their attacks in the run-up to January national elections in an attempt to destroy national unity and political stability.

A flurry of recent bombings has sparked fears that insurgents could reignite the sectarian fighting that nearly tore the country apart two years ago, while also raising questions about the ability of Iraqi security forces to maintain stability.

"Terrorists are increasing their attacks here and there because they recognize that we are about to have a political breakthrough," Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told Shiite tribal members during a meeting in Baghdad.

Al-Maliki warned Iraqis there would be "decisive battles" with insurgents in the months leading up to the January elections when Iraqis will cast ballots for the 275-member parliament and prime minister.

Al-Maliki, a Shiite, has campaigned for re-election largely on the dramatic decline in violence in the last two years.

But Iraq has suffered a series of deadly bombings in recent weeks, marking the worst violence since the U.S. military turned security of cities over to Iraqi troops on June 30. More than 150 people have been killed and hundreds more wounded in the attacks, primarily in Baghdad and in northern Iraq.

The deadliest attacks have been in and around the city of Mosul, which the U.S. military calls the last urban stronghold of al-Qaida.

Some Iraqi politicians have suggested delaying the upcoming elections, with the hope of increasing their chances of successfully challenging al-Maliki's party. But the prime minister has opposed a delay.

President Barack Obama has urged al-Maliki to be more flexible about sharing power and reconciling the country's rival ethnic and religious groups, an issue that has taken on new urgency with all U.S. troops scheduled to withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011.

Despite the recent attacks, security forces Saturday removed concrete blast walls from a major road in northern Baghdad's primarily Sunni neighborhood of Azamiyah, a former al-Qaida stronghold.

It is unclear when perimeter walls like the ones around Azamiyah will come down.