Early Iraq voting shattered by bombs
Iraq security forces were out in full force, trying to protect early voters in an election that will determine who will lead the country through the crucial period of the US troop drawdown and help decide whether the country can overcome its deep sectarian divisions.
But three explosions – a rocket attack and two suicide bombings – showed the ability of insurgents to carry out bloody attacks. They have promised to disrupt the voting with violence.
“Terrorists wanted to hamper the elections, thus they started to blow themselves up in the streets,” said Deputy Interior Minister Ayden Khalid Qader, responsible for election-related security.
Yesterday’s voting was for those who might not be able to get to the polls on Sunday.
The vast majority of early voters were the Iraqi police and military, who will be working on election day – when the rest of the country votes – to enforce security. Others voting included detainees, hospital patients and medical workers.
Many of the blast victims were believed to be security personnel, targeted by suicide bombers who hit police and soldiers lined up to vote. Convoys of army trucks and minibuses ferried soldiers and security personnel to polling stations. Many stores were shuttered, and normally crowded streets were nearly empty, as people stayed home on a holiday declared by the government.
About 19 million of Iraq’s estimated 28 million people are eligible to vote, and Iraqi expatriates can cast ballots in 16 countries around the world.
