Baghdad .. Protesters were shot dead by security forces and rockets landed inside the American embassy

Two protesters were shot dead on Sunday in clashes between protesters and the Iraqi security forces in the capital, Baghdad, while at least one person was wounded in a missile attack that targeted the Green Zone yesterday evening, and affected a restaurant inside the US embassy complex.

The Anadolu Agency quoted a medical source and a activist in the popular movement as saying that a second demonstrator was shot Sunday evening by the security forces in central Baghdad, adding that the protester was killed as a result of receiving an injury in the Al-Ras area in Al-Wathba Square in the center of the capital.

The medical source, who preferred not to be named, added that the number of people injured by live bullets and suffocation of tear gas increased to 33 protesters.

Security forces are trying to advance towards Al-Khilani Square, located between Al Wathba and Al-Tahrir Square, in an effort to reopen the nearby Al-Senak Bridge which was closed by protesters. The confrontations between the demonstrators and security personnel have been taking place since yesterday morning in Al-Wathba Square.

Earlier on Sunday, the Human Rights Commission (an official linked to parliament) announced the killing of 12 protesters in Baghdad and the Dhi Qar Governorate, south of the country, yesterday and the day before yesterday.

Return of protests
Yesterday, several Iraqi cities witnessed a strong return to demonstrations in the sit-in areas, and clashes between security forces and demonstrators. In Dhi Qar Governorate, more than 80 demonstrators were injured in the city of Nasiriyah (the center of the governorate) after the police tried to open the intersection of the lobby, which was closed by protesters on Sunday morning.

Local sources in Dhi Qar also said that demonstrators managed to remove the riot police from the Nasr Bridge, and crossed the bridge leading to the Shamiya area, where there are important government and security headquarters.

The security forces used live bullets to confront the demonstrators and try to disperse them from the streets around the central Al-Haboubi Square in the city of Nasiriyah. Armed groups attacked the square and burned the protesters' tents.

The security forces moved towards escalation since last Saturday by storming the sit-in squares in Baghdad, Dhi Qar, Basra, and other governorates, using excessive violence, including live fire, in a sudden move that came hours after the supporters of Sadr movement leader Muqtada al-Sadr withdrew from the squares.

The American Embassy
On the other hand, at least one person was wounded by three Katyusha rockets out of five that targeted yesterday evening the heavily fortified Green Zone.

American officials confirmed to American television networks that a dining hall inside the American embassy complex in Baghdad was damaged after launching about five missiles at the Green Zone, three of which hit the embassy compound.

The resigned Iraqi Prime Minister, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, denounced the targeting of the American embassy, ​​and ordered the arrest of those who fired the missiles in order to obtain his punishment in court.

Abdul-Mahdi warned that what he described as an irresponsible unilateral act bears the whole country its serious repercussions, harms its supreme interests and external relations and may turn it into a battlefield.

He said that he directed the security forces to search and investigate to prevent the recurrence of such attacks, stressing that the Iraqi government is committed to protecting all diplomatic missions, and takes all necessary measures to achieve this in accordance with the law.

The US embassy in Baghdad has been subjected to repeated missile attacks during the recent period, but it is the first time that the rockets landed inside the embassy compound.