The group said it would not target Iraqi polling stations or voters. (Reuters)

By Samir Haddad, IOL Correspondent

BAGHDAD, January 27 (IslamOnline.net) – Three days ahead of the controversial vote, a leading Iraqi resistance group vowed not to target polling stations or attack innocent Iraqis, saying the real battle is against the occupiers.

In a statement, a copy of which was obtained by IslamOnline.net, the Salah Al-Din Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Front for Resistance, said they would not be dragged into a battle against their own people.

The group pledged to avoid targeting polling stations or being involved in spilling the blood of innocent civilians.

“We are keen not to harm the lives of all Iraqis regardless of their sects and races -- that is an order for the armed wing of the group to follow,” said the two-page statement.

“We should not be dragged into side battles which do not affect the true struggle with the enemy occupiers,” it added.

The announcement runs in the face of threats by Al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi who declared an all-out war on the vote and those who participate in the process.

Al-Zarqawi’s militants on Thursday posted a video on the Internet of their murder of Salem Jaafar al-Kanani, a candidate from the party of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.

At least 30 people were killed Thursday in intensified attacks on Iraqi and US targets as election workers started distributing ballot boxes for the vote.

Sunday's elections are widely expected to be marred by bloodshed and violence after some groups threatened voters with death.

Around 14 million Iraqis are eligible to cast ballots at some 5,700 polling stations to elect a 275-seat National Assembly that will in turn choose a Presidency Council and draft the country’s constitution.

The constitution must then be ratified through a national referendum – scheduled to take place at the end of 2005.

“Legalizing Occupation”

In its statement, the Iraqi resistance group dismissed the elections as a purely American demand that would help not resolve the Iraqi dilemma.

“It is meant to legitimize the occupation and turn it into a fact on the ground,” it added.

The Islamic Front for Resistance warned that the National Assembly would be used to rubberstamp all security and economic agreements with the occupation forces.

Analysts have said that conditions for Sunday's vote, the first open election in 50 years, will be far from perfect, as three main governorates and parts of the capital Baghdad would be excluded from the vote for security reasons.

Only three days away from the elections, voters still do not know exactly who is running for the seats, where they can cast ballots or even how they will get to the polls because of all the security precautions in place.

Moreover, several Iraqi and foreign analysts agree that the elections alone are not going to stem the violence that has plagued Iraqi society over the past year.

The White House acknowledged on January 13 that the controversial election would be flawed because of raging insecurity in the war-torn country.