At least 67 Iraqiswere killed and hundreds wounded in two days of protests over the weekend, asdemonstrators clashed with security forces and militia groups in a second waveof protests against Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi's government this month.
Seeking to contain thespiralling violence, on Saturday night Abdul Mahdi ordered members of thecountry's elite Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) onto the streets of the capitalBaghdad and the southern city of Nasiriya.
They were told to"use all necessary measures" to end the protests, security sourcestold Reuters.
Around midnight, CTStroops took over checkpoints in neighbourhoods surrounding Baghdad's centralTahrir Square and began corralling protesters out. Security forces firing teargas had earlier failed to clear the square of demonstrators.
