Activist couple reportedly shot dead in tense Iraqi city
Iraqi security forces fired live bullets and tear gas against protesters in Baghdad on Thursday, despite a curfew that was announced in the Iraqi capital hours earlier amid deadly violence gripping the country and antigovernment protests that killed 19 people this week.
So far, at least 19 people have been reported killed and hundreds have been wounded since the violence and clashes between security forces and antigovernment demonstrators first erupted on Tuesday.Ten people were killed late Wednesday in the southern cities of Nasriya and Amara. The dead were protesters and one policeman, according to security officials.
In the southern city of Basra, unknown assailants shot and killed Iraqi activist Hussein Adel Madani and his wife. Security officials said masked gunmen stormed the house early Thursday and killed the cartoonist and his wife. Their 2-year-old daughter, Zahra, was not harmed.The well-known activists had been taking part in protests in the city Wednesday night.
Baghdad’s main streets were largely deserted Thursday morning. In central Tahrir Square, hundreds of young protesters were gathered, and police fired tear gas canisters every now and then. NetBlocks, which monitors cybersecurity and internet governance, reported that Internet access was cut off across much of Iraq and social and messaging apps blocked amid the growing unrest.
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