The new demonstration by people demanding better services, an end to corruption and more jobs is the latest outbreak to hit Iraq in the wake of the regional turmoil which began in Tunis and is now sweeping the Middle East.
About 600 people gathered outside the provincial headquarters of Basra, facing the police in protecting the building. There were some scuffles between protestors and police, but the protest was largely peaceful.
A day before the city of Kut, 100 miles south-east of Baghdad, some 2,000 protesters who were throwing stones attacked local government offices, burning of some buildings, including the governor's house.
Witnesses said that Iraqi police and soldiers fired on demonstrators who threw stones and those with military vehicles confiscated. The spokesman for the province of Wasit, Sondos to Dahabi said three protesters were shot dead. Mr. Al-Dhahabi that the number of wounded at 30, including 15 policemen.
The top health official in the province, Diaa al-Aboudi, said he was only aware of one death, an Iraqi soldier. Fifty-five people were wounded, he said. Some were killed while others were hit by stones thrown by demonstrators or burned in the melee.
The provincial authorities held an emergency meeting to discuss the demands of the protesters, Mr. al-Dhahabi said. The authorities lifted the curfew imposed on Wednesday.
Iraq is one of the few countries with a democratically elected government in the Middle East, but leaders here have not been immune to the rage that envelops the region. The Iraqis have a long list of grievances against their leaders, including electricity that works sometimes only a few hours a day, unemployment is going up to 30% and rampant corruption.
As security has improved, attention turned to the quality of life and economic issues instead.
Meanwhile, gunmen in a car shot and killed a local official in the northern city of Mosul, police said. Hilal al-Ahmadi, 50, was the spokesman of the provincial office and the office of communication.
