At least 22 people dead after pro-Iran protests in Pakistan and Iraq

At least 22 people dead after pro-Iran protests in Pakistan and Iraq US government buildings in Karachi and Baghdad targeted by crowds after killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei US-Israel war on Iran – latest updates At least 22 people are dead following pro-Iran demonstrations in Pakistan in which hundreds of people marched on the US consulate in Karachi. Security forces in Iraq have also fired teargas at protesters who tried to storm the US embassy in Baghdad. As anger boiled over after US-Israeli strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , a crowd of demonstrators in Karachi chanted against the offensive before entering the reception hall of the consulate building and lighting a small fire. A video posted on social media showed a man yelling: “The death of the leader has been avenged.” Ten people were reported dead after security forces opened fire, with more than 30 others injured, according to a local medical official. Violence arising from protests elsewhere in Pakistan left 10 people dead in Gilgit-Baltistan and two dead in the capital, Islamabad. In Iraq, security forces fired teargas after hundreds of pro-Iran protesters waving flags and throwing stones tried to storm Baghdad’s Green Zone, which houses the US embassy. In recent days, US-Israeli strikes have targeted Iran-backed armed groups in the country, leading to fatalities. The killing of Khamenei has shaken the Middle East and the wider Islamic world. The 86-year-old Shia Islam cleric was Iran’s head of state for 36 years and oversaw the security policy that created a network of Iranian-backed militias across the region. Iran-aligned groups, such as Hamas, the Houthis, Iraqi militias and Hezbollah all issued statements of condolences and solidarity with Khamenei, who they praised as a mujahid – a religious warrior – and a martyr. “ was leading the march of jihad and resistance against the tyrannical and oppressive American and Israeli forces, enemies of religion and humanity,” the secr...