The assassination of a civilian activist, last night in southern Iraq, did not affect the course of the popular protests against the Iraqi government and the expansion of Iranian influence, despite the repression that has killed more than 450 people since October 1, and in the context of the current tension, six Iraqi soldiers were wounded, After rockets fell, at dawn yesterday, on a base where American soldiers are deployed near Baghdad airport.
A prominent civil activist, Fahim Al-Taie, 53, was assassinated by unidentified gunmen late yesterday in Karbala, while he was on his way home from anti-government demonstrations, witnesses told Agence France-Presse.
Yesterday morning, a solemn funeral was held for thousands of people in Karbala.
More than 450 people were killed and 20,000 wounded during protests in Baghdad and several southern cities two months ago.
Yesterday, protests continued in the capital, and most of the southern cities of the country, to demand the "overthrow of the regime" and the rejection of the political class accused of corruption and failure to run the country. Thousands of protesters continue to exist in the symbolic Tahrir Square, the center of the protests in central Baghdad, and as tents spread to accommodate young protesters. A garage controlled by protesters for weeks at the Al-Sinak Bridge near the Tahrir Square, on Friday evening, was attacked by an armed attack that killed at least 20 protesters and four police, according to security and medical sources.
The attack, which generated widespread discontent in the country, also wounded about 100 people, according to the sources. The diplomatic missions of a number of Western countries called on the Iraqi government not to allow armed groups to "work outside their control."
Meanwhile, Iraqi military bases, which house American soldiers and the US embassy, have been the target of nine missile attacks in the past six weeks. Yesterday, a missile attack targeted a base where American soldiers and diplomats are located in the vicinity of Baghdad International Airport, wounding six soldiers, according to an official statement.
Security sources stated that all of the wounded, two of them in critical condition, are from the Anti-Terrorism Forces, which are elite forces in Iraq, and receive training and armament from the United States.
- The resigned Iraqi Prime Minister confirmed,
Adel Abdul-Mahdi, the commitment of Iraq
Human rights principles, and the protection of the right
Peaceful protest, the right to life and work
and the study.