Protesters in Basra attack offices of political parties and state-run TV channel

Three protesters died during violent protests in Basra on Thursday as crowds set fire to the offices of political parties and militia groups in a show of anger over the southern Iraqi city's collapsing infrastructure.

The protesters died during attacks on local government and political party buildings, bringing the total number of civilians killed since widespread demonstrations kicked off on Monday to 10. Tens of security forces members have also been injured, some by a hand grenade, health and security officials said.

Protesters on Thursday attacked the offices of the state-run Iraqiya TV and set fire to the headquarters of the ruling Dawa Party, the Supreme Islamic Council and the Badr Organisation, whose leaders are all vying to form Iraq's ruling coalition.

Protesters also set fire to the offices of the powerful Shiite militia Asaib Ahl Al Haq, and those of the Hikma Movement about 100 kilometres north of Basra, and stormed the house of the acting head of the provincial council.

The provincial government headquarters was engulfed in flames, local police and military sources said. No protesters were near the building when the fire broke out in the afternoon, they said.

Basra security officials announced a curfew from 10.30pm to help quell the protests. A citywide curfew was originally planned for 3pm, but was cancelled minutes before it was due to come into force.

An Iraqi security official in Basra said they were struggling to cope with the demonstrations. "We are still waiting for orders from the state's highest authorities," he said.

The port of Umm Qasr, the country's main seaport and its principal lifeline for grain and other commodity imports, closed on Thursday. Port employees said all operations had ceased after protesters began blocking the entrance, which lies about 60km from Basra, on Wednesday night. Trucks and staff were unable to get in or out of the complex.

Oil exports, handled at offshore terminals, remained untouched by the unrest. Oil exports from Basra account for more than 95 per cent of Iraqi state revenues.

Southern Iraq, heartland of the Shiite majority, first erupted in unrest in July as protesters expressed rage over collapsing infrastructure, power cuts and corruption.

Residents in Basra, a city of more than 2 million people, say the water supply has become contaminated with salt.

A health ministry spokesman told a news conference in Baghdad that 6,280 people had been recently hospitalised with diarrhoea because of the oversalinated water.

Public anger has grown at a time when politicians are struggling to form a government after an inconclusive parliamentary election in May. Residents of the south complain of decades of neglect in the region that produces the bulk of Iraq's oil wealth.

Leading political figures, embroiled in government formation negotiations in Baghdad, have scrambled to respond to the crisis, condemning rivals for inaction.

Moqtada Al Sadr, a populist Shiiite cleric whose electoral bloc came first in May's election, called for an emergency televised session of parliament to discuss "radical" solutions to the crisis in Basra, a city "without water, electricity or dignity".

Iraq's second biggest city, Basra is a stronghold of Mr Al Sadr, who has recast himself as an anti-corruption campaigner and has allied himself with incumbent Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi.

The prime minister responded that he would be ready to attend a meeting of parliament with the ministers and officials concerned to try to find a resolution.

Mr Al Abadi has ordered the interior ministry to conduct an investigation into the protests and to instruct security forces not to use live ammunition.

Parliament convened for the first time on Monday, but failed to elect a speaker as mandated, delaying its next meeting to September 15.

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Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr calls for parliamentary session to solve Basra violence

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