"The Military Council is totally ready to hand over power immediately and return to its original job protecting the people, if the people want that in a referendum, " Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head of the usually secretive Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, said on state television.

WSJ: Egypt Heads for Showdown

Shia, such as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition, the Islamic Supreme Council led by cleric Ammar al-Hakim and the Sadrist Movement led by radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr.

BBC: Q&A: Iraqi provincial elections

The Council of State ruled on Tuesday that her election by the Supreme Court was invalid because there were not enough judges present when the vote took place.

BBC: Colombia chief prosecutor Viviane Morales resigns

State of Law also faces a challenge from Shiite rivals the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council and followers of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

NPR: Iraqis Go To Polls For First Time Since US Pullout

In its statement, read on state TV by a military official, the Supreme Council said the judiciary is a pillar of Egyptian society.

CNN: Egypt remains on edge during wait for election results

Wednesday's march follows a call for a U.S. troop withdrawal issued by the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a Tehran-based group that wants to see the establishment of an Islamic state.

CNN: Pilgrims flood Karbala on final holy day

Most of those killed in the coordinated attacks were victims of the first suspected car bombing near the Constitutional Council -- which oversees elections -- and Supreme Court in the Algiers neighborhood of Ben Aknoun, according to the state-run Algeria Press Agency.

CNN: Rescuers search for bomb survivors