2nd LD-Writethru: 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 protesters 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 "16 people were admitted to the hospital for treatment, 14 of them for suffocation by tear gas and two sustained wounds from rubber bullets."

Earlier in the day, hundreds of angry protesters reportedly took to the streets in at least six cities in the province of Sulaimaniyah in northeastern Iraq.

The protesters torched the local government building in the town of Kwaisanjaq on the provincial border with neighboring Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish region.

They also attacked and set fire to the offices of the Kurdish parties, including the major parties of Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), in several cities in Sulaimaniyah.

Protesters threw stones on many government buildings and parties' offices, prompting the security forces to use tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowds.

Hundreds of Kurdish security forces were deployed in the provincial cities, while attempting to avoid clashes with protesters.

On Monday, Kurdish protesters set fire to offices of the regional Kurdish parties and some protestors stoned the security forces guarding the Kurdish offices, sparking clashes with the security forces, who used tear gas to disperse the crowds, leaving some 30 people injured and suffocated.

The protests were sparked by frustration over unpaid salaries to teachers and other civil servants, in addition to the deterioration of basic services and widespread corruption.

The provinces of the Kurdistan region have been suffering from financial and economic hardships as a result of disagreement with the federal government in Baghdad over distribution of crude oil revenues extracted from the northern oil fields.

The financial hardship has increased after the Iraqi forces retook control of the oil-rich province of Kirkuk and some other oil wells in the disputed areas on Oct. 16.

Tensions have been running high between Baghdad and the region of Kurdistan after the Kurds held a controversial referendum on the independence of the Kurdistan region and the disputed areas on Sept. 25.

The independence of Kurdistan has been fiercely opposed by the Iraqi central government. Enditem