Seven people were shot dead on Wednesday in Iraq's shrine city of Najaf after supporters of powerful cleric Moqtada Sadr raided an anti-government protest camp, medics told AFP.

 

All the dead suffered bullet wounds to the head or chest, the medics said, and dozens more were wounded. 

 

Tensions have been high at protest camps across the country since Sadr backed prime minister-designate Mohammad Allawi, prompting a rift with the main anti-government movement which has rejected his nomination as premier.