At least 16 protesters were killed, and 47 others injured after an unknown assailant shot at demonstrators in Baghdad's Khilani Square, firing live ammunition from cars, a security official said. 

Protesters ran from the location to nearby Tahrir Square and mosques to take cover. 

The attack comes a day after a string of stabbing incidents left 13 wounded in Baghdad's Tahrir Square. Those attacks occurred as protesters withdrew from the Square on Thursday evening. 

At least 400 people have died since the protests in Iraq began on October 1, as thousands of Iraqis took to the streets to decry corruption and calling for an end of the political system that was put in place following the 2003 U.S. invasion. 

The protests lead to a number of clashes with security forces, who used live fire, sonic bombs and tear gas to disperse the crowds. But the protests lead the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi in early December.