UPDATE - Iraq: Teenager killed in Sulaymaniyah protests

UPDATES WITH CASUALTIES

By Bekir Aydogan and Ibrahim Saleh

BAGHDAD/ERBIL, Iraq (AA) - A teenager in northern Iraq died on Monday in a demonstration staged over deteriorating economic conditions.

Sherif Rahim, spokesman of the Chamchamal Health Directorate in the city of Sulaymaniyah, said a 16-year-old who was among the demonstrators died during the protests in the district.

Two others were injured, he added.

According to local media, security forces opened fire at the protesters who attacked the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) building in Chamchamal.

Earlier on Monday, hundreds of angry demonstrators set the offices of political parties in Sulaymaniyah ablaze.

"Demonstrators set fire to the offices of the parties of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the Kurdistan Islamic Union, and the Islamic Group," an officer told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to media.

Firefighters have been dispatched to the location to put out the flames.

The police officer pointed out that security forces were unable to control the angry mobs, claiming that there had been no casualties during the riots.

The incident is the second of its kind in the past 24 hours.

Protests have rocked several cities and towns in Sulaymaniyah province since Wednesday over economic woes.

The KRG has been struggling to pay the salaries of civil servants since April when Baghdad stopped paying them as a result of disputes over oil wealth management and the distribution of its revenues, as well as revenues from border crossings.

The number of the KRG civil servants is estimated at 1.2 million, receiving total salaries of $700 millon per month.

* Writing by Mahmoud Barakat