Iraqis Head to the Polls

A young Iraqi girl, who accompanied her family to the polling station, asked for her finger to be inked, even though she was too young to vote, shows her inked finger as she leaves the polling station in Karbala, Iraq, Sunday, March 7, 2010. Iraqis voted Sunday in an election testing the mettle of the country's still-fragile democracy as insurgents killed 25 people across the country, unleashing a barrage of mortars intent on disrupting the historic day.   Source: AP Photo

A man pushes his family in a cart to a polling station in Sadr City, northeastern Baghdad, March 7, 2010. Explosions killed 24 people as Iraqis voted on Sunday in an election that Sunni Islamist militants have vowed to disrupt, in one of many challenges to efforts to stabilise Iraq before U.S. troops leave.   Source: REUTERS

A man walks through the rubble of a house destroyed by a blast in the mixed neighborhood of Kirayaat which killed one person, according to police, in northern Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, March 7, 2010. Insurgents blew up a polling place and threw hand grenades at voters, killing 26 people in attacks aimed at intimidating Iraqis in an election that will determine whether Iraq can overcome jagged sectarian divisions that have plagued the country since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.   Source: AP Photo

Female relatives of the deceased on their way to vote, walk past the the rubble of a house destroyed by a blast in the mixed neighborhood of Kirayaat which killed one person, according to police, in northern Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, March 7, 2010. Insurgents blew up a polling place and threw hand grenades at voters, killing 26 people in attacks aimed at intimidating Iraqis in an election that will determine whether Iraq can overcome jagged sectarian divisions that have plagued the country since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.   Source: AP Photo

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki holds up an ink-marked finger as he casts his ballot in the Iraqi parliamentary election at a polling station in the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq Sunday March 7, 2010. A wave of attacks unleashed across Iraq Sunday killed 25 people, in an attempt to intimidate voters from going to the polls in a historic election testing the mettle of the country's still-fragile democracy.   Source: AP Photo

An Iraqi woman displays her inked finger after casting her vote in the parliamentary elections in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, March 7, 2010. Under a blanket of tight security designed to thwart insurgents attacks, Iraqis went to the polls on foot Sunday in an election testing the ability of the country's still-fragile democracy to move forward at a time of uncertainty over a looming U.S. troop drawdown and still jagged sectarian divisions. Source: AP Photo

The remains of a house destroyed by a blast in the mixed neighborhood of Kirayaat which killed one person, according to police, is seen in northern Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, March 7, 2010. Insurgents blew up a polling place and threw hand grenades at voters, killing 26 people in attacks aimed at intimidating Iraqis in an election that will determine whether Iraq can overcome jagged sectarian divisions that have plagued the country since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.   Source: AP Photo

An elderly Iraqi woman sitting in a wheelchair shows her inked finger as she leaves a polling station, with an Iraqi flag seen in background, in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, March 7, 2010. Iraqis voted Sunday in an election testing the mettle of the country's still-fragile democracy as insurgents killed 25 people across Iraq, unleashing a barrage of mortars intent on disrupting the historic day. Writing on flag in Arabic reads "God is Great."   Source: AP Photo

Iraqi Parliament speaker Ayad al-Sammaraie holds up an ink-marked finger as he casts his ballot in the Iraqi parliamentary election at a polling station in the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq Sunday March 7, 2010. A wave of attacks unleashed across Iraq Sunday killed 25 people, in an attempt to intimidate voters from going to the polls in a historic election testing the mettle of the country's still-fragile democracy.   Source: AP Photo