1st LD: 5 killed in protests in Iraq's Kurdish region

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed and 96 injured Tuesday in demonstrations in Iraq's semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan amid widespread anger over unpaid salaries and corruption, medical source told Xinhua.

The heavy casualties occurred in the town of Rania in Sulaimaniyah province when the security forces opened fire and used tear gas after protestors torched offices of the Kurdish parties, leaving five people killed and some 80 others wounded, Taha Mohammed, spokesman of the town's health office, told reporters.

Clashes also erupted in the city of Sulaimaniyah when the security forces fired rubber bullets and used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, Xinhua reporter in the city said.

Meanwhile, Omid Ali, head of al-Jami'a Hospital in the city of Sulaimaniyah told Xinhua that "16 people were admitted to the hospital for treatment, 14 of them for suffocation by tear gas and two sustained wounds from rubber bullets." Enditem