Iraq attacks kill 27 as security forces vote

At least 27 soldiers and policemen have been killed in a spate of attacks and bombings across Iraq, as they cast their ballots in special voting ahead of the country’s main parliamentary elections.

A bomb attack at one voting center in western Baghdad left seven policemen dead on Monday while five members of the security forces lost their lives in another bomb blast at a polling station in the capital’s north.

According to officials, 15 members of the security forces were killed in assaults elsewhere.

Meanwhile, a bomb explosion in the northern city of Mosul injured six Iraqi journalists while they were in a military vehicle to cover the election.

Iraqi soldiers and policemen began voting on Monday, two days before the national elections, in order to be able to provide security for the main polling event on April 30.

Hospital and prison staff, patients and inmates will also be casting their ballots on the same day.

The vote is Iraq’s first parliamentary elections since US forces withdrew in 2011 and is a major test for the security forces. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is hoping to win a third term.

Meanwhile, Takfiri groups, including the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), are reportedly coming to Iraq from neighboring Syria and Saudi Arabia to undermine security in the country.

The government in Baghdad has blamed Riyadh for the Iraq chaos, saying Saudi Arabia is funding and arming militants fighting against Iraqi forces in the country’s western areas, including Anbar Province