A roadside bomb exploded near a US military convoy in Baghdad today, missing the soldiers but killing a seven-year-old boy who was selling cans of black-market petrol on the street and wounding nine other civilians.

US PRESIDENT George Bush called yesterday's elections in Iraq a success and promised the United States would continue trying to prepare Iraqis to secure their own country.

Iraqis turned out to vote today in their country’s first free election in a half-century, defying insurgents who launched deadly suicide bombings and mortar strikes at polling stations. By midday, at least 36 people were dead but the violence had slowed and voting picked up.

Iraqis turned out to vote today in their country’s first free election in a half-century, defying insurgents who launched deadly suicide bombings and mortar strikes at polling stations.