Iraq’s top Shi’ite Muslim cleric said a new prime minister must be chosen without foreign interference as armed men killed at least 19 people, including three police, near a Baghdad protest site on Friday.
After armed men raided the home of Hussein Adel al-Madani and his wife Sara Talib last year, the Iraqi activists spent months of self-imposed exile in Turkey, changed address upon returning home and ceased participating in protests, according to two friends of the couple.
Security forces in Iraq have opened fire on protesters in Baghdad, killing and wounding several people, according to witnesses, the latest bout of bloodshed amid ongoing protests demanding an overhaul of the country's political system.
One of Iraq’s most influential clerics called on Friday for the government to resign as the death toll rose to 65 in three days of violent national protests against official corruption.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made an unannounced visit to Baghdad on Tuesday and met with Iraq’s prime minister and other top officials to discuss the safety of Americans in Iraq and explain U.S. security concerns amid rising Iranian activity.
