Iraqi security forces use air rifles to disperse protesters

Iraqi security forces used pellet rifles to disperse anti-government protesters from the Sinak Bridge area in central Baghdad on Thursday.

Protesters hurled stones at riot police during the clashes, some injured protesters received first aid on site.

Violence continued for a second week in the Iraqi capital where security forces used pellet guns for the first time in the four-month movement in which police have killed demonstrators with live rounds and tear gas canisters.

The country is also facing a political clash over naming the next prime minister.

Iraq's president has given rival political blocs a deadline by February 1 to select a prime minister nearly two months after the outgoing premier resigned under pressure from mass demonstrations, his office said in a statement Wednesday.

At least 500 protesters have died under fire from security forces who have used live bullets and tear gas since the mass movement began on October 1.

Thousands had taken to the streets to decry corruption, endemic unemployment and poor services.