Five mortar shells land in the vicinity of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad

Shafaq News / At least five mortar shells targeted the vicinity of the U.S. embassy in the Green Zone, Baghdad, a security source reported.

The source told Shafaq News agency that violent armed clashes are already taking place in the Green Zone, where protestors are using RPGs, PKC guns and Kalashnikov rifles.

Five protestors were killed and 50 others (including members of the security forces) were wounded in Baghdad on Monday after a decision by Iraq's powerful Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to quit politics over a political deadlock prompted clashes between his supporters and backers of Iran-backed rivals. 

Multiple suffocation cases have also been reported among media persons covering the protests inside Baghdad's ultra-secure Green Zone as security forces attempt to disperse the protestors using gas.

Al-Sadr announced he is walking out of politics in a statement he shared on Twitter earlier today. The influential leader seized the opportunity to take an aim toward a senior Najaf clergyman, Ayatollah al-Haeri, and fellow Shiite politicians who opposed his calls for reform.

In the aftermath, followers of al-Sadr rallied outside the presidential palace and stormed the government headquarters, prompting caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi to suspend cabinet meetings until further notice.