An U.S. army expert wearing a protective suit inspects a vehicle parked on the side of the road which was suspected of containing explosives, in western Baghdad, Jan. 2, 2005. No explosives were found in the car.
Returning residents walk toward a checkpoint before entering Fallujah, Jan. 2, 2005. U.S. forces are still fighting insurgents in parts of Fallujah, although military officials said last month's offensive succeeded in regaining control of the city. Iraqi civilians continue to return to the troubled Sunni city.
A tank recovery vehicle rolls on a highway into Mosul, Iraq, Jan. 2, 2005. Several Bradley fighting vehicles and tanks were deployed to Mosul to provide security ahead of the Jan. 30 elections.
The body of an Iraqi man lies on the side of the road in Baghdad, Jan. 1, 2005. The man was killed by one of the roadside bombs which targeted U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces.
Iraqi beggars sit below posters advertising next month's landmark elections, in Baghdad, Dec. 31, 2004. A total of some 6,400 candidates on 100 lists have been registered for the Jan. 30 elections to choose a new parliament.
Iraqi Christians light candles on New Years Day outside the Lady of the Rescue church in central Baghdad, Jan. 1, 2005.
Two boys attend Friday prayers in the Shiite neighborhood Sadr City in Baghdad, Dec. 31, 2004.
An Iraqi woman walks past posters advertising next month's landmark elections, in Baghdad, Dec. 31, 2004. The United States has been talking to Iraqi leaders about ways to guarantee minority Sunni Muslims a minimum level of top posts in Iraq 's future government.
Residents search through the rubble of a building destroyed during an airstrike the previous day in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, Dec. 30, 2004. U.S. troops and warplanes killed at least 25 insurgents after an attack an American outpost in northern Iraq with a car bomb and explosives.
U.S. Marines walk during a patrol, in Ramadi, Iraq, Dec. 30, 2004.
An Iraqi boy looks from the rubble of the building destroyed the day before in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, Dec. 30, 2004.
A forensic expert works on a mass grave discovered in Suleimaniyah, Iraq, Dec. 29, 2004. Workers digging the foundation of a new hospital in this northern city discovered a burial site that regional human right minister said could contain the remains of hundreds of people.
An Iraqi woman stands outside houses destroyed in a blast in west Baghdad, Dec. 29, 2004.
People look at a damaged patrol car covered by the rubble of houses destroyed in a blast in western Baghdad, Dec. 29, 2004.
Ed Haggett of Freemont, N.H., hands out harmonicas at the Al Manathra School in Balad, Iraq, in this photo released by the N.H. Army National Guard on Dec. 28, 3004. Haggett, an avid harmonica player, recieved a free supply of the music makers after he mesmerized students when he played his harmonica for them. They had never seen or heard one before.
An Iraqi National Guardsman collects the remains of a suicide bomber after a car bomb targeted the home of a senior National Guard officer in the Azimiyah neighborhood of Baghdad, Dec. 28, 2004.
Mohammed Khodayer, 41, is brought into a Samarra, Iraq, hospital, Dec. 28, 2004, after he was injured in a car bomb explosion.
A guard stands amid rubble in front of the home of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, which is the country's most powerful Shiite political group, Dec. 27, 2004. A suicide bomber detonated his car there killing 15 people and injuring dozens, police said. The cleric was unharmed.
Men wounded in a blast arrive to Ibn al-Nafees hospital in Baghdad, Dec. 27, 2004.
Guards stand amid rubble in front of the home of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, Dec. 27, 2004, after a suicide bomber detonated his car there.