Iraqi Prime Minister Orders Arrests of Protesters at Parliament

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered the arrest of hundreds of protesters who stormed Iraq's parliament Saturday evening.

Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr led the group inside Baghdad's Green Zone where they tore down walls around the government district and invaded Parliament.

The group demanded reforms in the political quota system that was introduced after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

"Today the people announced their revolution," said al-Sadr, who has been against U.S. troops and has threatened to topple the government, the Christian Post reported. "History will record the birth of a new Iraq, from the ashes of corruption and the corrupt."

However, the group is now temporarily withdrawing in order to observe a pilgrimage.

"We decided to end it now because of the anniversary of Imam (Moussa) al-Kadhim," said Sadiq al-Hashemi, a representative of al-Sadr's office in Baghdad who was present at the protests.

Al-Hashemi said al-Sadr made the decision in order to allow Iraqi security forces to protect the thousands of pilgrims who are expected to walk from across Iraq to the shrine of the 8th-century Imam in Baghdad.

The protests have been going on for months and have culminated into the storming of Parliament. Al-Abadi has asked the interior ministry to arrest demonstrators inside the Green Zone.

He said the protests could hamper the war against the Islamic State terror group, which controls many areas in northern and western Iraq.

Earlier on Sunday, car bombs in the southern Iraqi city of Samawah killed 31 people and wounded many. Two parked cars were filled with explosives and detonated within minutes of each other.

This is the latest in a series of large attacks claimed by the Islamic State group as the country battles a worsening political crisis.

At least 52 people were wounded in both explosions, and police officials say the death toll is expected to rise.