Date: Nov 28, 2019
Source: The Daily Star
Iraqi protesters set fire to Iran's Najaf consulate
Agence France Presse
NAJAF, Iraq: Protesters set fire Wednesday night to Iran's consulate in the southern Iraqi Shiite holy city of Najaf, two months into the country's most serious social crisis in decades, AFP journalists said.

Staff at the consulate had evacuated before the incident, police and civil defense sources said. The protesters entered the compound late Wednesday and set fire to the entire consulate building. Authorities announced a curfew shortly afterwards, state media reported.

Iraqis have taken to the street in their thousands to demand the departure of their government and political class which they view as corrupt and beholden to foreign powers, especially neighboring Iran.

Authorities have shot dead more than 300 people in an attempted crackdown on the unrest, according to police and medics. Iranian-backed parties and paramilitary groups dominate state institutions and parliament.