(8 Sep 2018) Iraqi security forces deployed on the streets of Basra on Saturday, a day after protesters in the southern city stormed the Iranian consulate and torched government buildings in violence that rocked the oil-exporting Shiite heartland and sparked alarm across a conflict-weary country.
Masked troops in combat fatigues set up checkpoints and rode through the city centre in black pickup trucks with heavy weapons mounted in the back.
Security forces in Humvees deployed at intersections.
The deployment came after an alliance of powerful Shiite militias, many of them backed by Iran, vowed to respond to the violent protests that have gripped the city for the past week, raising the threat of further violence.
"We will have a response to those who are carrying out acts of arson and sabotage," Abu Yasser al-Jaafari, a commander of the government-sanctioned Shiite militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces said during a news conference in the city on Saturday.
At least 15 people were killed and 249 injured in clashes between protesters and security forces this week, health officials say.
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