Protests grip Iraq

Eleven protesters died yesterday while setting fire to the headquarters of a powerful armed faction in the southern Iraqi city of Diwaniyah, a security source told AFP. The fire at the Badr organisation’s offices was the deadliest incident yet on Friday, when anti-government rallies resumed across the country.

The Iraqi Human Rights Commission said another 30 demonstrators died and more than 2,000 were wounded by gunfire and tear gas in protests in Baghdad and the country’s south. Security forces used tear gas and an Iranian-backed militia opened fire to try to quell renewed demonstrations against corruption and economic hardship, security sources said.

A government intelligence officer and a member of the powerful Asaib Ahl Al Haq militia were killed in a clash with protesters in the southern city of Amara, police sources said. Nearly 1,800 people were injured nationally as demonstrators took to the streets to vent frustration at political elites they say have failed to improve their lives after years of conflict.