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Over 90% of Iraqi Security Forces voted in Fallujah

By Captain Jeff Pool

FALLUJAH, Iraq - Yesterday, Iraqi Security Forces protecting the city of Fallujah and surrounding areas exercised their right to vote. Soldiers and police took advantage of their early opportunity to vote with more than 90 percent casting their ballots.

The ISF will play the key role in protecting the polling sites for Thursday's National Election as the Iraqi Army provides the outer perimeter security while the Iraqi Police will provide the inner cordon around the actual polling sites.

With all their forces committed on election day, it was necessary to create an alternate voting opportunity for the ISF. The Independent Electoral Commission-Iraq brought in workers for sites at the IP stations in Fallujah, Saqlawiyah, and Ferris as well as IA voting locations near Camp Fallujah and India Base.

The ISF forces here and throughout Iraq were the first Iraqi citizens to begin the election that will seat the first truly democratic government in their country's history.

Iraqi Security Forces have also played a key role in preparing the Fallujah area to vote by conducting anti-insurgent operations that placed insurgents into custody and seized or destroyed munitions and weapons that could have been used to conduct attacks on Coalition Forces and the Iraqi people.

More than 100 Iraqi soldiers have been killed defending their country and more than 240 others were wounded during the past nine and one-half months that Iraqi Security Forces have been operating in Fallujah.

Source: USMC