Iraqi demonstrators torch political party offices

Protestors set fire to offices of political parties Friday in the southern Iraqi province of Dhi Qar to protest the killing of a demonstrator a day earlier.

Offices of former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Dawa Party and the Badr Organization, headed by former Transportation Minister Hadi Al-Amiri, were among those set ablaze, according to a security officer who did not want to be named due to security concerns.

The officer did not provide further detail of the conditions of the buildings.

Mohammed al-Isami was shot dead Thursday by unidentified attackers. Attempts to kill two other protestors were also made.

An increased number of shootings in the last two weeks have targeted protesters as Iraq has been roiled by mass demonstrations regarding poor living conditions and corruption.

Protests have forced Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi to resign.

According to the country’s High Commission for Human Rights, at least 496 Iraqis have been killed and 17,000 injured since protests began Oct. 1.