Protesters in the southern city of Nasiriyah yesterday blockaded five main bridges, shut down schools and burned tires outside public offices in anger. Overnight, two protesters had been shot dead and at least 47 others wounded by security forces in the city. Clashes also pitted protesters against security forces overnight in Karbalah, one of Iraq’s two Shiite holy cities. Yesterday’s violence came a day after the surprise visit of US Vice President Mike Pence to Iraq, where he dropped in on US troops stationed in western Iraq and met top leaders in the Kurdish region. Pence’s visit was the highest-level US trip since President Donald Trump ordered a pullback of US forces in Syria two months ago.
