BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Iraqis embraced democracy in large numbers Sunday, standing in long lines to vote in defiance of mortar attacks, suicide bombers and boycott calls. Pushed in wheelchairs or carts if they could not walk, the elderly, the young and women in veils cast ballots in Iraq’s first free election in a half-century.

“We broke a barrier of fear,” said Mijm Towirish, an election official. Uncertain Sunni turnout, a string of insurgent attacks that killed 44 and the crash of a British military plane, killing 10 soldiers, drove home chaos in Iraq remains. Yet the mere fact the vote went off seemed to ricochet instantly around a world hoping for Arab democracy and fearing Islamic extremism.

“I am doing this because I love my country, and I love the sons of my nation,” said Shamal Hekeib, 53, who walked with his wife 20 minutes to a polling station near his Baghdad home. “We are Arabs, we are not scared and we are not cowards,” Hekeib said.

With helicopters flying low and gunfire close by, at least 200 voters stood calmly in line at midday outside one polling station in the heart of Baghdad. Inside, the tight security included at least four body searches, and a ban on lighters, cell phone batteries, cigarette packs and even pens.

While a driving ban seemed to discourage car bombs, the insurgents improvised, strapping on belts of explosives to launch their suicide missions.

At least 44 died in the suicide and mortar attacks on polling stations, including nine suicide bombers. The al-Qaida affiliate led by Jordanian terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility for at least four attacks. Elsewhere, one U.S. serviceman died in fighting in the Sunni stronghold of Anbar province west of Baghdad.

Despite the string of attacks and mortars that boomed first in the morning and then after dark, a people steeled to violence by years of war, sanctions, the brutality of Saddam’s regime and U.S. military occupation were not deterred from the polls.

The electoral commission said it believed, based on that anecdotal information, turnout among the estimated 14 million eligible Iraqi voters appeared higher than the 57 percent that had been predicted, although it would be some time before any precise turnout figure was confirmed.

The ticket endorsed by the Shiite Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani was the pre-voting favorite, while Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi’s slate was also considered strong. But officials said it could take 10 days to determine the vote’s winner.

“The world is hearing the voice of freedom from the center of the Middle East,” said President Bush, who called the election a success. He promised the United States would continue training Iraqi soldiers, hoping they can soon secure a country America invaded two years ago this March to topple Saddam. Iraqis, the U.S. president said, had “firmly rejected the anti-democratic ideology” of terrorists.

The vote to elect a 275-National Assembly and 18 provincial legislatures was only the first step on Iraq’s road to self-rule and stability. Once results are in, it could take weeks of backroom deals before the new assembly picks a prime minister and government.

If that government proves successful by drawing in the minority Sunni Arabs who partly shunned the election, the country could stabilize, hastening the day when 150,000 U.S. troops can go home.