Attacks raise tensions on eve of Iraq polls

BAGHDAD, Apr 29 (agencies): Twin bombings killed 15 people northeast of Baghdad Tuesday, the latest in a wave of deadly violence that has cast a pall over Iraq's first general election since US troops withdrew.

The bloodshed came a day after a spate of blasts, including 10 suicide bombings, killed 64 people, raising questions over whether Iraq's security forces can protect upwards of 20 million eligible voters during Wednesday's polls.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, under fire over the worst protracted surge in violence in years along with a laundry list of voter grievances, is bidding for a third term in office in the election, the country's first since 2010.

The Shiite premier has trumpeted a battle against violent jihadists whom he claims are entering Iraq from war-torn Syria and supported by Gulf Arab states including Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

But critics say the authorities' heavy-handed treatment of minority Sunnis has contributed to the unrest.

In the latest violence, a spate of attacks on Monday killed 64 people in Baghdad as well as north and west of the capital, fuelling fears voters may stay at home rather than risk being caught up in bloodshed.

Meanwhile: Iraqi Kurds frustrated with the federal government dream of independence for their autonomous region, but for now they want widely disliked Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki out of office.

Maliki's "policies against the Kurds were not good", said Mohsen, 38, after dusting off sunglasses for sale in front of his shop in the Kurdish regional capital Arbil.

Instead, Mohsen wants a premier who "treats all of the (ethnic) components of the Iraqi people equally".

Maliki, a Shiite Arab vying for a third term in Wednesday's parliamentary polls, has repeatedly clashed with the three-province Kurdistan region's leadership in disputes over territory, resources and power-sharing, making him a prime target for Kurdish ire.