Demonstrators torched the offices of two political parties in Raparin in the autonomous region's Sulaimaniyah province, said a spokesman for the local health department, Taha Mohammad.

"Clashes erupted with the security forces who opened fire, leaving five dead and at least 70 wounded," he said.

It came as protests broke out for a second day over the disastrous fallout from an independence referendum in September that delivered a resounding "yes" but drew sweeping reprisals from Baghdad.