A voting box is pictured at a polling station before it is opened for voters during a referendum in the town of Abyei
A voting box is pictured at a polling station which is located in a school, before it is opened for voters during a referendum in the town of Abyei October 27, 2013. Residents of the remote and disputed Abyei border region pressed ahead with their own referendum on whether to join Sudan or South Sudan, despite warnings it could trigger violence in the volatile area. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic (ABYEI - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS ELECTIONS)
A man walks with his cows during a referendum in the town of Abyei
A man walks with his cows as he wears a T-shirt reading: "Abyei referendum" during the referendum in the town of Abyei October 27, 2013. Residents of the remote and disputed Abyei border region pressed ahead with their own referendum on whether to join Sudan or South Sudan, despite warnings it could trigger violence in the volatile area. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic (ABYEI - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS ELECTIONS ANIMALS)
Women wait to vote in front of a polling station located at a school during a referendum in the town of Abyei
Women wait to vote in front of a polling station located at a school during a referendum in the town of Abyei October 27, 2013. Residents of the remote and disputed Abyei border region pressed ahead with their own referendum on whether to join Sudan or South Sudan, despite warnings it could trigger violence in the volatile area. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic (ABYEI - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS ELECTIONS)
A man casts his ballot at a polling station located at a school during a referendum in the town of Abyei
A man casts his ballot at a polling station located at a school during a referendum in the town of Abyei October 27, 2013. Residents of the remote and disputed Abyei border region pressed ahead with their own referendum on whether to join Sudan or South Sudan, despite warnings it could trigger violence in the volatile area. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic (ABYEI - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS ELECTIONS)
A woman shows her ink-stained finger after casting her ballot at a polling station during a referendum in the town of Abyei
A woman shows her ink-stained finger after casting her ballot at a polling station located in a school during a referendum in the town of Abyei October 27, 2013. Residents of the remote and disputed Abyei border region pressed ahead with their own referendum on whether to join Sudan or South Sudan, despite warnings it could trigger violence in the volatile area. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic (ABYEI - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS ELECTIONS)
A man casts his ballot at a polling station located at a school during a referendum in the town of Abyei
A man casts his ballot at a polling station located at a school during a referendum in the town of Abyei October 27, 2013. Residents of the remote and disputed Abyei border region pressed ahead with their own referendum on whether to join Sudan or South Sudan, despite warnings it could trigger violence in the volatile area. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic (ABYEI - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS ELECTIONS)
A woman breastfeeds her child at a school near a polling station during a referendum in the town of Abyei
A woman breastfeeds her child at a school near a polling station during a referendum in the town of Abyei October 27, 2013. Residents of the remote and disputed Abyei border region pressed ahead with their own referendum on whether to join Sudan or South Sudan, despite warnings it could trigger violence in the volatile area. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic (ABYEI - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS ELECTIONS) TEMPLATE OUT
People stand at the site of a car bomb attack in Baghdad
People stand at the site of a car bomb attack in Baghdad's al-Shaab district, October 27, 2013. Ten car bombs exploded across Baghdad province early on Sunday, killing at least 37 people, police and medics said. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
An elderly woman gestures as she casts her ballot in a polling station located at a school during referendum in the town of Abyei
An elderly woman gestures as she casts her ballot in a polling station located at a school during referendum in the town of Abyei October 27, 2013. Residents of the remote and disputed Abyei border region pressed ahead with their own referendum on whether to join Sudan or South Sudan, despite warnings it could trigger violence in the volatile area. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic (ABYEI - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS ELECTIONS)
Bomb attacks on Iraqi soldiers, Shi'ites kill 49
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for any of the blasts, but Shi'ites are seen as apostates by hardline Sunni Islamists linked with al Qaeda, which has been regaining momentum this year