Iraqi prime minister says he will resign: statement

BAGHDAD

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi said on Nov. 29 he would present his resignation to parliament so lawmakers could choose a new government, according to a statement from his office.

Abdul-Mahdi’s decision came in response to a call for a change of leadership on Friday by Iraq’s top Shi’ite Muslim cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the statement said.

Earlier on Friday, Ali al-Sistani, a prominent Shia cleric, during a Friday pray in Karbala city, called on parliament to "reconsider its support to the government in order to avoid dragging the country into chaos."

Abdul-Mahdi said in a statement that he will submit his resignation in response to al-Sistani's call.

Iraq has been rocked by mass protests since early October against poor living conditions and corruption. Protesters' demands later spiraled into calls
for dissolving the government of Abdul-Mahdi.

According to Iraq's High Commission for Human Rights, at least 348 Iraqis have been killed and 15,000 injured since the protests began on Oct. 1.