Five protesters killed in clashes with supporters of radical Iraqi cleric

Followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, in the posters, gather in Tahrir Square, Baghdad (Khalid Mohammed/AP)

Supporters of a firebrand Iraqi cleric shot five people dead in overnight clashes with anti-government protesters in southern Iraq, according to medical officials.

The anti-government demonstrators attempted to block the path of a rally supporting Shiite Muslim leader Moqtada al-Sadr.