Both Iraqi parties claim election lead

Counting of ballots is underway across Iraq for its second parliamentary elections since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime.

The Iraqi prime minister's coalition and its main secular rival both claim to be ahead.

With ballots still being counted, the State of Law coalition led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki sounds upbeat.

An official there says early information shows the group has done well in Baghdad, and in the Shi'ite south, which includes Iraq's second-largest city, Basra.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, center, speaks to reporters after voting in Iraqi parliamentary elections at a polling station in the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq Sunday March 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Ali Abbas, Pool)