Protesters set fire to Iraqi provincial building

BAGHDAD — Iraqi protesters stormed and set fire to a provincial government building in the southern city of Basra, despite a curfew imposed by authorities Thursday to try and quell demonstrations against poor public services and unemployment that have turned violent.

Three protesters were shot dead by security forces, according to medical and security officials.

Iraq’s popular Shiite cleric Muqtada al- Sadr called for an urgent parliamentary session to discuss the situation in Basra, Iraq’s second-largest province and home to about 70 percent of its oil reserves.

Twelve civilians have been killed since the start of the month in clashes between demonstrators and police, according to Iraq’s Independent High Commission for Human Rights, which said an additional 93 civilians and 18 security forces were injured.