Baghdad, Nov 3 (IANS) Iraqi authorities have reduced the curfew in Baghdad to four hours from six, as anti-government protests continued across the capital city.

A statement on Saturday by Baghdad Operations Command (BOC), responsible for the security of Baghdad province, decided to set the new curfew from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., while the previous one imposed on October 28 started from midnight, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

The curfew reduction is intended to give more time for the protesters to return home, the statement said.

Since October 25, at least 82 people have been killed and more than 3,000 injured in clashes between protesters and security forces.

These new wave of protests follows the initial demonstrations that erupted on October 1, which spread through the capital and other regions of Iraq due to outrage over the lack of public services and employment opportunities.

At least 157 people died in the ensuing unrest, including eight members of the security forces.

--IANS ksk/