Iraqi medical sources said the number of casualties in the clashes in Basra has risen to 4 killed and 10 injured.

Asaib Ahl al-Haq Secretary-General Qais al-Khazali today ordered the closure of all the movement’s offices throughout Iraq. Khazali, through his social media account, urged his supporters “not to react negatively to insults against him.”

Yesterday, the governor of Basra in southern Iraq, Asaad al-Eidani, ordered that no militant be allowed to roam the streets from either side after the assassination of the leader of the Peace Brigades of the “Sadr Movement”. He stressed that “the security situation in the city has normalized and is under control.”

An Iraqi media security statement said the unrest in Basra on Wednesday night was caused by a crime in which one person died and another was wounded. The statement added that security forces had detained a number of suspects in the incident, indicating that the security situation was under control in light of the deployment of security forces in Basra.