Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Iraq’s Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi on Thursday sacked the military commander he had dispatched earlier in the day to “restore order” to a protest-hit southern city after a crackdown there killed 22 protesters.

Abdul Mahdi sent General Jamil Shummary to the city of Nasiriyah on Thursday morning. Following the deployment, the toll in a bloody crackdown on the city rose to 22 protesters dead and more than 180 wounded.

Iraqi television announced the premier had “withdrawn” Shummary from the post by the afternoon.

The violence erupted after the premier dispatched military commanders to “restore order” in the protest-hit south, hours after demonstrators torched Tehran’s consulate in the shrine city of Karbala.

*Agencies