The death toll of the recent Iraqi protests has reached more than 120 and more than 6,000 have reportedly been wounded. Following Shiite leader Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's condemnation of the Iraqi government for using violence against protesters, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi formed a committee of ministers and security officials on Oct. 13 to investigate.

“The government and its security apparatuses are responsible for the heavy bloodshed that occurred in the demonstrations of the past few days, whether of innocent citizens or the security elements charged with dealing with them. The government cannot shirk this responsibility,” Sistani's representative Sheikh Abdul Mahdi al-Karbalai said while leading Friday prayers on Oct. 11.

While Karbalai expressed Sistani's deep sympathy with the protesters and their demands, he demanded that "the government and the judiciary conduct a credible investigation into all that took place in the demonstrations and then disclose to the public who ordered or started shooting at demonstrators and others as well as their affiliations, and all this must be done within a certain period, such as two weeks."

The head of Supreme Judicial Council has called for an immediate investigation and the Defense Ministry will conduct its own investigation into the violence, with a spokesman promising to bring all the perpetrators to justice.