Five IS militants killed in airstrikes in Iraq
Five Islamic State (IS) militants were killed in airstrikes in the northern Iraqi province of Kirkuk, the Iraqi military said on Saturday.
As anti-government protests continued across the Baghdad, Iraqi authorities reduced the curfew in the country to four hours from six on Saturday.
A statement by Baghdad Operations Command (BOC), responsible for the security of Baghdad province, decided to set the new curfew from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., while the previous one imposed on October 28 started from midnight, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.
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The curfew reduction is intended to give more time for the protesters to return home, the statement said.
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Last month, thousands of protesters took to the street to protests to demand jobs and better public services in Iraq.
Protesters, most of them young people, waved Iraqi flags and chanted slogans such as “They are all thieves,” apparently referring to the country’s political class.
Earlier, an IHCHR statement said that the demonstrators in Wasit Province burned the Islamic Dawa Party headquarters and stormed the house of the governor in the province, while in the southern province of Dhi Qar, protesters burned the provincial government building.
The demonstrations came after Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi while giving a speech on television, warned of chaos if the government resigns, and promised a cabinet reshuffle, more job opportunities and the establishment of a court to prosecute corrupt officials.
Since October 25, massive protests broke out in Baghdad and other central and southern provinces over similar reasons that left 157 people dead, including security forces.
These new waves of protests follow the initial demonstrations that erupted on October 1, which spread through the capital and other regions of Iraq due to outrage over the lack of public services and employment opportunities.
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