Civil Defense vehicles were seen rushing to the Iranian consulate in Najaf in southern Iraq to extinguish a fire ignited by protesters for the second time in less than a week, according to an Al Arabiya correspondent.

 

Meanwhile, security forces announced a state of alert in the province of Najaf, according to an Iraqi security source.

 

Last Wednesday, anti-government protesters burned down the Iranian consulate building in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf, while six protesters were killed by security forces who fired live rounds amid ongoing violence, Iraqi officials said on Wednesday.

 

Earluer on Sunday, the governor of Baghdad announced three days of mourning for those killed during the protests.

 

Iraqi forces have killed nearly 400 mostly young, unarmed demonstrators since mass anti-government protests broke out on October 1, to decry rampant government corruption, poor services and rising Iranian influence in Iraqi state affairs.

 

More than a dozen members of the security forces have also died in clashes.