The U.S. ambassador to Iraq condemned attacks against election workers and said violence must not be allowed to hurt the ballot in five days time. "We denounce the recent killing of campaign workers in Mosul, Basra, Baghdad, and elsewhere, as well as the attacks in Najaf and Dohuk," Zalmay Khalilzad said in a statement released in Baghdad late on Friday. "These actions are assaults on democracy and attempts to deny Iraqis the freedom to vote their conscience," he was quoted as saying by Reuters.
