UPDATE - Clashes kill 14 protesters in Iraq’s south

UPDATES WITH MORE CASUALTIES

By Mohamed Waleed

BAGHDAD (AA) - At least 14 Iraqi protesters were killed and 80 others injured in clashes with security forces in the country’s southern city of Nassiriya in Dhi Qar province, according to a medical source.

The source, who works in the Health Department of Dhi Qar province, told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity that "hospitals in the province have so far recorded the death of 14 demonstrators and the injury of 80 others."

According to the source, the casualties took place during clashes between protesters and security forces on al-Nasr and al-Zeytun bridges in Nassiriya.

The Iraqi security forces clashed with protesters early Thursday in an attempt to control the two bridges that are closed since last Wednesday, said a security source earlier to Anadolu Agency.

Iraq has been rocked by mass protests since early October against poor living conditions and corruption. Protesters demands later spiraled into calls for dissolving Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi's government.

According to Iraq's High Commission for Human Rights, at least 348 Iraqis have been killed and 15,000 have been injured since protests began Oct. 1.