Iraq holds vote during surge of violence

Yahoo News

Wed, April 30, 2014 at 9:58 AM UTC

An Iraqi man casts his vote at a polling center in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, April 30, 2014. A key election for a new Iraqi parliament was underway on Wednesday amid a massive security operation as the country continued to slide deeper into sectarian violence more than two years after U.S. forces left the country. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

An explosion is seen during a car bomb attack at a Shi'ite political organisation's rally in Baghdad, April 25, 2014. A series of explosions killed 18 people at a Shi'ite political organisation's rally in Iraq on Friday, police and medical sources said. The militant group, Asaib Ahl Haq (League of the Righteous), introduced its candidates for elections on April 30 at the rally in eastern Baghdad. Three bombs exploded in succession as people were leaving, Reuters reporters at the scene said. (REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani) (REUTERS)

FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2013 file photo Shiite demonstrators chant pro-government slogans and wave national flags, to show support for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, center in photo on banner, in Baghdad, Iraq. If Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki wins a third four-year term in parliamentary elections Wednesday, April 30, 2014, he is likely to rely on a narrow sectarian Shiite base, only fueling divisions as Iraq slides deeper into bloody Shiite-Sunni hatreds. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File)

An Iraqi woman prepares to cast her vote for parliamentary elections as she carries her daughter at a polling station in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, April 30, 2014. (AP Photo/ Nabil al-Jurani)

An Iraqi woman casts her vote at a polling center in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, April 30, 2014. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

People gather at the site of a bomb attack in Kirkuk, north of Baghdad April 24, 2014. Twenty-five people were wounded after a car bomb went off near a hospital in Kirkuk, late on Thursday, police sources said. Picture taken April 24, 2014. (REUTERS/Ako Rasheed) (REUTERS)

A man passes by a campaign poster of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, top, in Baghdad, Iraq on April 27, 2014. If Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki wins a third four-year term in parliamentary elections on April 30, 2014, he is likely to rely on a narrow sectarian Shiite base, only fueling divisions as Iraq slides deeper into bloody Shiite-Sunni hatreds. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File)

An Iraqi elderly woman shows an ink-stained finger after casting her vote inside a polling station for parliamentary elections in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, April 30, 2014. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

A victim of a bomb attack, which occurred in Khanaqin, is wheeled on a gurney into a hospital in Sulaimaniya April 28, 2014. A suicide attacker killed at least 30 people and wounded 50 others at a Kurdish political gathering in the town of Khanaqin, northeast of Baghdad, security sources said. Picture taken April 28, 2014. (REUTERS/Yahya Ahmad) (REUTERS)

An Iraqi man casts his vote inside a polling station for parliamentary elections in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, April 30, 2014. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

An Iraqi woman casts her vote inside a polling station for parliamentary elections in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, April 30, 2014. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Iraqi security forces react at the scene of a car bomb attack at a Shi'ite political organisation's rally in Baghdad, April 25, 2014. A series of explosions killed 18 people at a Shi'ite political organisation's rally in Iraq on Friday, police and medical sources said. The militant group, Asaib Ahl Haq (League of the Righteous), introduced its candidates for elections on April 30 at the rally in eastern Baghdad. Three bombs exploded in succession as people were leaving, Reuters reporters at the scene said. (REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani) (REUTERS)

Iraqi's show their ink-stained fingers after casting their votes for parliamentary elections at a polling station in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, April 30, 2014. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

An Iraqi woman shows her ink-stained finger after casting her vote inside a polling station for parliamentary elections in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, April 30, 2014. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Unshaken by the latest surge in violence, Iraqis braved the threat of bombs and attacks to vote Wednesday in key elections for a new parliament amid a massive security operation as the country slides deeper into sectarian strife.

Hundreds of thousands of troops and police have fanned out to guard voting centers in what is also the first nationwide balloting since the 2011 American pullout. Polls across the energy-rich nation opened at 7 a.m. local time and will close at 6 p.m. Iraq's 22 million voters are electing a 328-seat parliament. (AP)

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