Live ammunition was used on demonstrators as well as tear gas and sound bombs, police and medics say.

Protesters were back on the streets of Iraqi cities on Sunday despite security forces killing at least five people the day before in central Baghdad.

Live ammunition was used on demonstrators as well as tear gas and sound bombs, police and medics say.

The clashes in Baghdad wounded scores more people and put security forces back in control of all except one major bridge linking the Iraqi capital's eastern residential and business districts to government headquarters across the Tigris river.

The government promised reforms aimed at ending the crisis. Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said on Saturday (November 9) that political parties had "made mistakes" in their running of the country, recognised the legitimacy of protest to bring about political change and pledged electoral reform.

Despite government pledges of reform, security forces have used lethal force since the start and killed more than 280 people across the country.