Reply #9: Insurgents blast polling stations around Iraq

[struggle4progress]

BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber attacked a police station in a Kurdish town, killing eight people, and insurgents blasted polling places across the country yesterday on the eve of landmark elections in which the president acknowledged many Iraqis would not vote because of fears for their lives.





In Baghdad, bursts of heavy machine gun fire rattled through central districts at midday, and several heavy explosions shook the downtown area in the afternoon. American fighter jets roared through the skies in a show of force.

Iraqi police and soldiers set up checkpoints through streets largely devoid of traffic as the nation battened down for the vote, with a nighttime curfew imposed across the country and the borders sealed. Seven American soldiers were killed Friday in the Baghdad area, including two pilots who died in the crash of their OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopter.

West of the capital, in the insurgent bastion of Ramadi, five Iraqis with hands tied behind their backs were found slain yesterday on a city street. One of the bodies was decapitated. Militants accused them of working for the Americans. <snip>

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/533489.html