Reporting from Baghdad - Bombs and mortar shells pounded Baghdad on Sunday morning, killing at least 40 people and wounding dozens more, as Iraqis, desperate for a brighter future, sought to cast their ballots in crucial national elections.
The deadly blasts, which echoed across the capital before 7 a.m. and lasted until close to noon, threw a pall over the vote for the second four-year government since Saddam Hussein was toppled in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
In contrast to national elections in 2005, when U.S. military vehicles patrolled Baghdad, only Iraqi army and police guarded the city Sunday.
They were unable to prevent insurgents from launching their fusillades, which appeared to unnerve some voters and dissuade many from heading to the polls in the morning, said Hamdiya Husseini, a spokeswoman for Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission.
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