at Least 28 protesters are in a day were killed in Iraq, where iranian influence in the country is creating anger among many.

Large-scale protests have escalated further in Iraq, where at least 28 people Thursday has been shot and killed by security forces.

at Least 24 people died when soldiers shot with the sharply defined against demonstrators who blocked a bridge in the southern city of Nassiriya before sunrise Thursday. According to hospitalskilder were several others wounded.

Four others have been killed in the capital Baghdad. Here shot the soldiers both with sharp and with rubber bullets after the demonstrators near a bridge.

Thursday's clashes are some of the bloodiest since the protests began in the beginning of October.

the Anger among many of the protesters are rooted in a perception that the government is in the pocket of foreign powers - particularly neighboring Iran.

Parties and paramilitary groups that has the backing of Iran, has a majority in the Iraqi parliament and public institutions.

Protesters in the city of Najaf in Betlike southern Iraq put the Wednesday night fire to the iranian consulate in the city. It illuminates the sources in the iraqi police and civil defence.

the Staff at the consulate was evacuated, before the protesters stormed the building, says the sources. The authorities have introduced a curfew in Najaf after the incident, writes the iraqi media.

The iranian ministry of foreign affairs requires, that the authorities in Iraq to take tough measures in order to punish the perpetrators, writes news agency AFP.

the Attack was "an attempt to undermine the historical relations between Iraq and Iran", writes the ministry in a communication according to Reuters.

- The diplomatic operations in Iraq are highly respected and valued, emphasized in the message.

Iraqi security forces have shot and killed over 300 people in an attempt to crack down on the unrest. Several thousand others are injured.

the Demonstrations, which is especially concentrated in the capital Baghdad and the southern part of Iraq, is the greatest, Iraq has experienced since the amerikanskledede invasion in 2003.

/ritzau/Reuters