Iraq: Unknown gunmen attack several television stations in Baghdad

Masked gunmen ransacked the office of multiple television stations in Baghdad on Saturday, reported Russia Today news.

The Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya said that various masked gunmen attacked their office in Baghdad.

"Colleagues have been injured during the storming of our office by gunmen," according to the correspondent.

"The gunmen who were wearing black clothes smashed our equipment and mobile phones," he said.

The correspondent said that police have declined protection to the station during the attack.

"Members of the federal police declined assistance to us during the attack," he said.

"Following the attack, we have received assurances from the Prime Minister's Office and from officials to investigate the attack," the correspondent added.

The offices of Dijla, NRT, Arabiya Hadath, Fallouja, Alghad Alaraby, Al-Sharqiya and Sky News Arabia were also reportedly targeted.

This comes as Iraq has been hit by protests which marked the largest to date against Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi's fragile government.

So far, 100 people have been killed and thousands suffered injuries in these protests.

Protests have been reported in the cities of Nasiriyah, Diwaniyah, and Basra. Many of the protesters in Baghdad held photographs of one of the country's most famous war heroes, Lt Gen Abdulwahab al-Saadi, a former head of Iraq's counterterrorism force who led the fight to defeat the Islamic State.