Thousands of Iraqis defy bloody crackdown on Tahrir Square protest

Protesters refuse to leave square in Baghdad despite further deadly clashes with security forces

Thousands of Iraqi protesters occupied Baghdad's central Tahrir square on Sunday, defying a bloody crackdown that killed scores over the weekend and an overnight raid by security forces seeking to disperse them.

Throughout the day security forces fired teargas at groups of young men wearing heavy duty gloves who rushed at the canisters and threw them back. Protesters also barricaded a bridge leading to the capital's fortified Green Zone.