Iraqis braved the fear of violence today to vote in the first election since the US military withdrawal, though delayed voting in some parts of the country and an apparently lacklustre turnout elsewhere has cast doubt about the credibility of the vote.

IRAQI election officials argued publicly with supporters of the prime minister who demanded a halt to a partial recount of votes just as the process got under way, a sign of tensions over the measure that could change the outcome of the closely fought contest.

A handful of Sunni mosques were attacked or burned today, but curfews and increased troop levels kept Iraq in relative calm a day after suspected al Qaida bombers toppled the towering minarets of a revered Shiite shrine.

Around 50 Iraqi soldiers were killed execution-style after insurgents intercepted minibuses carrying them home on leave, officials said today.

A suicide bomber rammed an ambulance packed with explosives into security barriers outside the Iraqi offices of the international Red Cross today, killing about 10 people, an American general said.