Iraqi security and medical officials say two protesters have been killed and at least 25 others wounded in ongoing confrontations with security forces in a central Baghdad square.
The officials say the protesters were killed when Baghdad police fired live ammunition and tear gas at hundreds of protesters who removed concrete barriers and streamed into the Khilani Square, which has been at the center of clashes for the past days.
Friday’s deaths brought to three the number of protesters killed in the past 24 hours.
At least 320 people have been killed and thousands have been wounded since the unrest began on October 1, when protesters took to the streets in the tens of thousands outraged by widespread corruption, lack of job opportunities and poor basic services despite the country’s oil wealth.
