A group affiliated with the terrorgroup al-Qaida vowed on Monday to wage more attacks in Iraq following the Iraqi elections.

In a statement posted on an Islamic website, the group termedSunday's elections as an "American game", vowing that "We in the alQaida Organization for Holy War in Iraq will continue the jihad(holy war) until the banner of Islam flutters over Iraq."

On Monday, the Arabic-language al-Jazeera satellite TV channelaired a video, purportedly showing the shooting down of a Britishmilitary plane in Iraq.

The Qatar-based channel said it obtained a copy of the videofrom a group called "the Green Brigade," which claimedresponsibility for downing the transport plane, which crashed about40 km north of Baghdad on Sunday, killing 10 British soldiers.

The video showed the burning wreckage scattered over a wide areabut it did not show any impact with a plane. It was unclear if thewreckage was that of the British plane.

A day after the Iraqi elections, three US marines were killed insouth of Baghdad and another US marine was killed in action in theflashpoint Anbar province west of Baghdad, the US military said.

Meanwhile, Iraq's interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi called onIraqis to set aside their differences after Sunday's polls and worktoward peace.

"This is the time for all Iraqis to come together to build ourfuture -- a new, stable, prosperous country," Allawi told a pressconference in Baghdad on Monday.

Hailing the success of Sunday's parliamentary elections, Allawisaid though some attacks had caused casualties, seven otherattempts, all by foreign terrorists, were foiled by the Iraqisecurity forces.

"This is the time for all Iraqis to work together to show theworld the potential of this country," he said.

The interim government led by Allawi will stay in office until anew transitional government is formed by the elected 275-seatnational assembly.

The Independent Election Commission of Iraq (IECI) said Mondaythe final results of Sunday's Iraqi parliamentary elections areestimated to come out within 10 days.

Iraqi officials estimated that nearly 60 percent of the 14million eligible voters had turned out to cast their ballots.

Arab and Muslim countries hail Iraqi elections

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak who was taking part in theAfrican Union summit in the Nigerian capital Abuja, telephonedIraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi on Sunday to congratulatehim on the holding of landmark elections in Iraq.

He hoped this step would lead to a political participation thatinvolves all segments of the Iraqi people and would open the doorfor restoring calm and stability in Iraq.

Speaker of Kuwaiti National Assemble Jassem Al-Kharafi expressedsatisfaction on Monday with the Iraqi elections, the Kuwaiti NewsAgency reported.

"I would like to congratulate the Iraqi people on theirsteadfastness against all odds to bring a successful nationalelection," Al-Kharafi was quoted as saying.

He said the tremendous voter turnout and the proper way ofhandling the elections showed many Iraqis worked with greatconscience for the benefit of their nation.

"A stable and prosperous Iraq would reflect positively on itsneighbors," he added.

Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi on Monday congratulatedthe Iraqi government on holding "such a glorious election", termingit a "success" and "sign of nobility of the Iraqi people.

"The election in Iraq is an important step on the way toward theestablishment of a democratic structure based on people'sdetermination," Kharazi was quoted as saying in a message to hisIraqi counterpart Hoshiar al-Zibari.

"I hope that the election will bring stability and security tothe region without the presence of alien forces as well asexpansion of bilateral relations between Iran and Iraq," Kharazisaid.

Iran, which fought a bitter eight-year war with neighboring Iraqfrom 1980 to 1988, has been keeping a close watch on the situationof Iraq since the downfall of Saddam Hussein's regime.

Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday a newperiod will begin in Iraq after the parliamentary elections onSunday.

"Holding elections in Iraq despite all ongoing security andother problems, low participation in some regions and all otherdifficulties, Iraqi people once more confirmed their will to assurepeace and stability in unity and integrity of this country," thestatement said.

"We consider it a step taken on the road to settlement of ademocratic regime in Iraq," it added.

Meanwhile, the statement pointed out that Turkey expects ademocratic government to be formed in Iraq as soon as possible.

In an interview with CNN, Jordanian King Abdullah II on Mondaycongratulated the Iraqi people on their election and expressedoptimism over the future of democracy in the region.

"I think we can say hearty congratulations to all Iraqis.Everybody is very, very pleased with the turnout and it seems tohave been a very successful day for Iraqis yesterday," the Kingsaid.