Two children view election posters on a wall in Baghdad's Sadr City Jan. 26, 2005.The Iraqi elections will be held on Jan. 30. (Xinhua photo)

US President George W. Bush on Wednesday urged Iraqis to vote on Sunday to defy the terrorists, saying the upcoming Iraqi elections will be a "grand moment in Iraqi history."

At his first press conference in the second term, Bush predicted that "millions of Iraqis will show bravery" on Sunday and take part in the country's elections.

The president also expressed his condolences to the families ofAmerican Marines killed in a helicopter crash earlier this day.

A US military transport helicopter crashed due to bad weather in Iraq's western desert Wednesday, killing 31 people. All were believed to be Marines, raising the Iraq war death toll to 1,407 for American forces.