Here is a recap of Iraq's largest grassroots movement in decades:

- Spontaneous gatherings -

On October 1, more than 1,000 people take to the streets in Baghdad and cities in southern Iraq to protest corruption, unemployment and poor public services after calls on social media.

In the capital, they gather in the iconic Tahrir (Liberation) Square in a surprisingly spontaneous movement.

Riot police disperse crowds with water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets, firing live ammunition when protesters regroup.

The first deaths are reported.

- Unrest spreads -

The next day, protests multiply across southern Iraq.

Influential firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr announces support for "peaceful protests" despite leading the biggest bloc in parliament and being a main sponsor of the government.

On October 3, thousands defy a curfew in Baghdad and other cities, blockading streets and burning tyres.

Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi defends his year-old government in a late-night television speech, asking for more time to implement reforms.

On October 4, as clashes intensify in Baghdad, Sadr calls on the government to resign and for early elections under United Nations supervision.

On October 6, the cabinet announces reforms including land distribution, boosted social welfare and the ousting of corrupt officials.

- Deadly second wave -

Protests halt for around two weeks for a nationwide religious holiday but resume on October 24, a day before the anniversary of Abdel Mahdi taking office.

They take a dangerous new turn as protesters torch dozens of provincial government buildings and offices linked to the powerful Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force across the south.

At least 63 people are killed over two days, according to the Iraqi Human Rights Commission.

The protest movement swells on October 28 as students, schoolchildren and professors join rallies in Baghdad and southern cities.

- Politicians scramble -

On October 31, President Barham Saleh says he would hold early parliamentary elections and raises the possibility of the resignation of the prime minister.

On November 1, top cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani warns against foreign interference. A day earlier Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had told Iraq to "remedy insecurity".

The Iranian consulate in the city of Karbala is attacked on November 3, amid charges by demonstrators that Iran is propping up the government. Four are shot dead.

On November 4, Iraqi security forces fire live rounds as protesters mass near Baghdad's state television headquarters.

The next day Abdel Mahdi says early elections would be unrealistic under the current constitution, in a hint that he would stay in power.

On November 9, Iran brokers a back-room deal to keep Abdel Mahdi's government in office and protest sites in Baghdad and Basra are cleared.

- Iran torched -

On November 17, Iraqis flood the streets of Baghdad and southern cities in a general strike.

In the capital, students expand their sit-in from Tahrir Square to the Al-Sinek and Al-Ahrar bridges.

The violence intensifies with six demonstrators killed in the south on November 24.

Bomb blasts across Baghdad two days later take another six lives, and are claimed by the Islamic State group.

On November 27, protesters torch the Iranian consulate in the holy city of Najaf, shouting "Iran out!"

The following day Iraqi security forces kill 15 anti-government protesters in the southern city of Nasiriyah, another protest hotspot.