Iraqis vote amid deadly attacks

Iraqis have begun voting in their second full parliamentary elections since the 2003 US-led invasion against a backdrop of deadly attacks. Around 19 million eligible voters will choose from over 6,000 candidates from 86 political groups looking to gain seats in the 325-member assembly. But even as polls opened on Sunday, attacks across the country left at least 24 people dead and 50 more wounded. The bloodiest toll was from an explosion that destroyed a residential building in the Shaab district of northern Baghdad, killing 12 people and wounding eight more. Initial reports indicated that dynamite was used to blow up the building, the interior ministry official said.