U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday condemned "in the strongest possible terms" the bomb attacks that killed more than 100 people in Iraq's holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. "No cause can justify the killing of innocent civilians and the cold-blooded murder of election workers whose only purpose is to help the Iraqi people exercise their democratic right to vote," Annan said in a statement. Annan also condemned the insurgent attack on Iraqi election workers in Baghdad. He urged Iraqis not to be deterred by the attacks and come instead together in "a spirit of national reconciliation." "The U.N. will continue to do everything possible to assist the Iraqi people in holding elections and in completing their political transition in an orderly way," he said. --SP 2330 Local Time 2030 GMT
