Iraqi Forces Push Protesters Back to Main Square, Kill Five – Reuters
BAGHDAD - Iraqi security forces killed at least five people Saturday as they pushed protesters back toward their main camp in central Baghdad using live ammunition, tear gas and sound bombs, police and medics said.
The clashes wounded scores more people and put security forces back in control of all except one major bridge linking the Iraqi capital's eastern residential and business districts to government headquarters across the Tigris river.
The government promised reforms aimed at ending the crisis. Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said Saturday that political parties had "made mistakes" in their running of the country, recognized the legitimacy of protest to bring about political change and pledged electoral reform.
Mass protests began at Tahrir Square in Baghdad on Oct. 1 as demonstrators demanded jobs and services, and rallies have swelled in the capital and southern cities with calls for an overhaul of the sectarian political system…