At Least 20 Iraqis Killed in Election Attacks [more]
Insurgents threatened a bloodbath on Sunday when Iraqis go to the
polls in an election intended to unite the country and quell violence
but which could instead foment sectarian strife. Iraq was under
security lockdown for Iraq's first multi-party elections in nearly half
a century. Borders were sealed, airports closed and only official
vehicles allowed on the streets after heavy bloodshed on the eve of
voting, including a bold rocket strike that killed two Americans at the
U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad's Green Zone. Insurgents also killed
17 Iraqis and an American soldier on Saturday. A suicide bomber struck
a U.S.-Iraqi security center in the town of Khanaqin, northeast of the
Iraqi capital. The U.S. military said three Iraqi soldiers and five
civilians were killed in that incident. The embassy attack deepened
fears of an insurgent blitz on election day and demonstrated their
ability to strike at the heart of the interim government and American
power in their vast fortified complex on the west bank of the river
Tigris. It could also worsen fears of Iraq's 14.2 million registered
voters about casting ballots in the country's first election since
Saddam Hussein was toppled in a U.S.-led invasion in 2003. [more]
Iraqi forces unable to stop election day violence [more] and [more]
In Armored Vehicles, U.S. Troops Tell Iraqis to Vote [more] and [more]
"You can't have free and fair elections under occupation. They simply
don't mean anything," "This election is being forced by the
Americans so they can say to the world, 'Look, we've brought democracy
to Iraq. We're brought freedom to the Iraqi people.' It's all a sham." [more]
