Iraq elections: At least 21 killed as bombers try to disrupt ballots

An Iraqi policeman inspects the site of a suicide bombing outside a polling station in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk (Getty)

At least twenty-one people were killed on Monday as suicide bombers attacked police and soldiers casting their vote early before a national election tomorrow.

Sunni Muslim militants, mostly disguised in army and police uniforms, struck at polling centres around Baghdad and in the northern provinces as they tried to disrupt Iraq’s fourth national elections since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

A curfew begins tonight as ordinary Iraqis prepare to vote tomorrow. Security forces are battling with an al-Qa’ida offshoot, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, in western Anbar province and other areas encircling the capital. Prime minister Nouri al-Maliki is seeking a third term in office but faces fierce political opposition.

REUTERS