Insurgents attack police as unrest grips Iraq town

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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L08727071.htm

SAMAWA, Iraq, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades at Iraqi security forces in the southern town of Samawa on Monday, a day after violent protests erupted over poor government services, witnesses said.

The violence is worrying for the government because Samawa is a usually calm Shi'ite town in a region relatively free of the bloodshed gripping other parts of Iraq. Anger over a lack of jobs and problems with the power and water supply have sparked anger in many parts of Iraq.

On Sunday, police opened fire on a crowd of protesters gathered outside the governor's office, killing one person and wounding about 40, police and hospital sources said.

Mohammed al-Ghazawi, a representative of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, told Reuters protests would continue until the local governor resigned and public services in Samawa improved.