Thousands of demonstrators rallied outside the building while hundreds went inside the consulate and set it ablaze, the photographer said.

Basra has seen a surge in protests since Tuesday, with demonstrators torching government buildings as well as political party and militia offices, as anger boils over after the hospitalisation of 30,000 people who had drunk polluted water.

At least nine demonstrators have been killed since then in clashes with security forces, Mehdi al-Tamimi, head of Basra's human rights council, has said.

Protests first broke out in July in oil-rich Basra province before spreading to other parts of the country, with demonstrators also condemning corruption among Iraqi officials and demanding jobs.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has scrambled to defuse the anger and authorities have pledged a multi-billion dollar emergency plan to revive infrastructure and services in southern Iraq.

But Iraqis remain sceptical as the country remains in a political limbo after May elections with the formation of a new government still to be sealed.

Iraq's parliament has meanwhile called for an emergency session on Saturday to discuss the unrest at the request of populist cleric Moqtada Sadr, whose bloc won the largest number of seats in the May polls.