Protesters set Iranian consulate ablaze in Iraq's Basra

Hundreds of protesters stormed and set on fire the Iranian consulate in Iraq's southern city of Basra on Friday as they vented their anger over poor public services.

Thousands of demonstrators rallied outside the building while hundreds went inside the consulate and set it ablaze, the photographer said.

Basra has seen a surge in protests since Tuesday, with demonstrators torching government buildings as well as political party and militia offices, as anger boils over after the hospitalisation of 30,000 people who had drunk polluted water.

At least nine demonstrators have been killed since then in clashes with security forces, Mehdi al-Tamimi, head of Basra's human rights council, has said.

Protests first broke out in July in oil-rich Basra province before spreading to other parts of the country, with demonstrators also condemning corruption among Iraqi officials and demanding jobs. P