Baghdad: At least 67 Iraqis have been killed and hundreds wounded in two days of protests over the weekend, as demonstrators clashed with security forces and militia groups in a second wave of protests against Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi's government.

At least 15 people were killed on Saturday and 52 on Friday.

An injured protester is rushed to a hospital during a demonstration in Baghdad, Iraq, on Saturday. Protesters converged on a central square as security forces erected blast walls to prevent them from reaching a heavily fortified government area after a day of violence that killed scores. Credit:AP

Seeking to contain the spiralling violence, on Saturday night, Abdul Mahdi ordered members of the country's elite Counter-Terrorism Service onto the streets of the capital Baghdad and the southern city of Nasiriya.

They were told to "use all necessary measures" to end the protests, security sources told Reuters.