Polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. local time. (Reuters)

BAGHDAD, December 15, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Iraqis went to the polls Thursday, December 15, in a watershed election for a full-term parliament, as a loud explosion hit the power base of the occupation forces in the heart of Baghdad, casting a grim reminder on the security chaos in the war-ravaged country.

Polling stations opened at 7:00 am (0400 GMT) and were to close at 5:00 pm. Millions will have to walk to ballot boxes with only authorized vehicles permitted to drive in order to curb car bombings.

"It's a national celebration for all Iraqis," said President Jalal Talabani, the country's first Kurdish head of state, who was the first to cast his ballot in the northern city of Sulaimaniyah, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Some 15.5 million Iraqis are called to vote for a new government many hope will restore stability and pave the way for an exit for foreign troops.

The ballot, the third this year, is hoped by many to mark a new beginning for Iraq following the chaos of the US-led invasion-turned-occupation that ousted Saddam Hussein in 2003, two transitional governments and the adoption of a constitution in October.

Some 7,655 candidates and 307 political entities, nearly triple the number that stood for election in January, are competing for 275 seats in a four-year legislature, with Sunni turnout expected to be much higher this time around.

The Shiites and Kurds, who have dominated the transitional administration, are looking to a full-term parliament as a chance to cement their grip on power.

Sunnis, which have largely boycotted the US-led political process until now, are expected to vote en masse.

It is energized by its worst fears -- a government dominated by religious Shiites and a break-up of Iraq into autonomous Kurdish and Shiite zones.

"If we don't participate we'll get more killing and destruction," warned Abdelaziz Al-Ani, 42, a teacher from Baghdad, according to AFP.

"Life has got to get better, we can't go on like this," Reuters quoted as saying one young man, the first to vote at a polling station inside a school in Baghdad's Karrada district.

In the northern city of Kirkuk, around 50 people in traditional Kurdish clothing held flowers as they queued to wait for the polling station to open, according to Reuters.

Stringent security measures have brought Iraq to a virtual standstill. (Reuters)

On the ground and despite blanket security, a huge blast was heard just after voting began, with a security source reporting it occurred inside Baghdad's heavily-protected Green Zone that houses the Iraqi government and the US embassy.

Details on possible casualties were not immediately available.

There was also an explosion in Ramadi, a city west of the capital where attacks against occupation forces are almost non-stop, and a mortar round landed near Tikrit, Saddam's home town, according to Reuters.

The stringent security measures have brought Iraq to a virtual standstill since Wednesday; the day campaigning effectively stopped.

Following purported threats from Al-Qaeda to "ruin the 'democratic' wedding of heresy and immorality", virtually all Iraq's 190,000 police and army were mobilized, with US-led troops providing perimeter security for voting stations.

Airports have been closed and land borders and boundaries between Iraq's 18 provinces sealed. Until Saturday, civilians are banned from carrying weapons and a night-time curfew extended.

Following a campaign marred by political killings and allegations of fraud, more than 120,000 independent observers have been accredited to monitor voting.