With the world anxiously waiting forthe outcome of Iraq's landmark elections, two questions remain unanswered as to the possibilities of ending the violence and the likelihood of withdrawal of foreign forces.

The election is viewed by many as an important step in theeffort to bring peace and stability to Iraq, but whether it iskiller of all sorts of terror remains to be seen.

On the very day of the polling, thunderous blasts echoed acrossregions where suicide bombers tried to stop voters from expressingtheir political will.

About 36 Iraqis were killed in explosions on Sunday, eight ofwhich were suicide bombings. However, the casualties are consideredlow in a country that hardly goes by a day without deadly attackson multi-national forces, government officials and Iraq's fledglinglaw enforcement.

At the very least one can safely say that the insurgents did notmake a decisive mark on the voting day. Queues, especially those inSunni restive cities like Fallujah, Ramadi and Baghdad, are clearproof of people's hunger for peace.

Most Iraqis believe those who try to terrorize civilians are notIraqis, but pockets of Sunni branch anti-US foreign fighters whoconsider Iraq an ideal battlefield.

They also believe Iraqi Sunnis are resisting out of patriotism,thus it would be politically incorrect to hold them accountable forthose violence.

It is too early to say that the foreign militant groups wouldsurrender and withdraw, the British Daily Telegraph newspaper saidon Monday.

The Daily Telegraph said the Jordanian terror mastermind AbuMusab Al Zarqawi, who was responsible for many deadly attacks,gives up his activity in Iraq when he sees the democracy might notleave him any justification for rebellion.

The newspaper quoted Zarqawi's message to the al-Qaida leaders ayear ago when he said his fighters might be obliged to leavebecause of what he described as the gap between fighters and Iraqipeople, and they would pack and look for another ground.

Defying insurgents who have long tried to wreck the elections,millions of Iraqis poured into polling stations on Sunday in thefirst post-Saddam Hussein elections in a hope to bring a societyfree of terror.

Iraqi officials expected a turnout of at least 50 percent tolend legitimacy to the elections to choose a 275-seat nationalassembly which will pick up a transitional government and overseethe writing of a permanent constitution put for a nationalreferendum by Oct. 15.

Analysts say that the elections and the forming of an electedgovernment which would be internationally recognized are viewed asa good opportunity for Washington to withdraw its troops from Iraq,even if gradually.

But the hopes that some parties pin on the elected nationalassembly and the transitional government to ask a quick leave ofAmericans might not be reasonable.

Nobody would deny that Iraq needs US backup in both military andpolitical arena, but the question is how long.

Though US President George W. Bush commented on Iraq's electionin euphoric tones that "the world is hearing the voice of freedomfrom the center of the Middle East," Iraqis might still have a longway to go before they can rule the country in a true sense.