Deadly chaos after Sadr quits politics

Shelling targeted Baghdad's high-security Green Zone , a security source said, after Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr said he was quitting politics, sparking chaos in which 12 of his supporters were killed.

Tensions have soared in Iraq amid a political crisis that has left the country without a new government, prime minister or president for months, and escalated sharply after Sadr's supporters stormed the government palace following their leader's announcement.

At least seven shells fell in the high-security Green Zone, which houses government buildings and diplomatic missions, the security source said on condition of anonymity.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the shelling, which was followed by the sound of automatic weapons being fired in the Green Zone.

The security source said Sadr's supporters opened fire at the Green Zone from the outside, adding that security forces inside "were not responding".

Shots were fired earlier in the fortified area, a correspondent said, and medics said 12 Sadr supporters had been shot dead and 270 other protesters injured -- some with bullet wounds and others suffering tear gas inhalation.

The army had announced a nationwide curfew from 7:00 pm.

Caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi said "security or military forces, or armed men" were prohibited from opening fire on protesters.

Protests spread to other parts of the country, with Sadr followers storming government buildings in the cities of Nasiriyah and Hillah south of Baghdad.