Iraqi Voters Stream to Polls; 33 Die in Attacks

By Matt Spetalnick
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Millions of Iraqis flocked to vote in a historic election Sunday, defying insurgents who killed 33 people in bloody attacks aimed at wrecking the poll.
Voters, some ululating with joy, others hiding their faces in fear, cast ballots in higher-than-expected numbers in their first multi-party election in half a century.
Election officials estimated the turnout at 72 percent, a figure that -- if confirmed -- would enhance the legitimacy of a national assembly that will choose Iraq's new leaders. But in parts of Iraq's Sunni Arab heartland, where the insurgency has been bloodiest, some streets and polling stations were deserted.
Militants struck mainly in Baghdad, rocking the capital with nine suicide blasts in rapid succession. The Iraqi wing of al Qaeda claimed responsibility.
Casting his vote in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi urged his countrymen to face down the insurgents.
"This is a historic moment for Iraq, a day when Iraqis can hold their heads high because they are challenging the terrorists and starting to write their future with their own hands," he told reporters.
A low Sunni turnout could raise questions about the credibility of the first election since Saddam Hussein was toppled in a U.S.-led invasion in April 2003.
Many fear that instead of quelling the anti-U.S. revolt, the poll could foment sectarian strife by further alienating Sunnis, delaying any withdrawal of American-led forces from the country.
Despite draconian security measures imposed by Iraq's U.S.-backed interim government, militants waged a sustained assault to try to frighten people away from the polls.