Clashes in Iraq's Basra kill four as crisis flares in oil-rich south

A man walks past a damaged vehicle on a street aftermath of clashes among rival Shiite Muslim militants in Basra, Iraq September 1, 2022. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani

BAGHDAD (Reuters) -Clashes among rival Shi'ite Muslim militants in the Iraqi city of Basra have killed at least four people, security officials said on Thursday, as violence from a worsening political crisis hit the south of the country.

The unrest began with two days of intense street fighting in Baghdad earlier in the week, the worst the Iraqi capital has seen for years.