Nine killed in Karachi protests over Khamenei's death

KARACHI, Mar 01 (Reuters): At least nine protesters were killed when crowds breached the outer wall of the U.S. consulate in the Pakistani city of Karachi, following news of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iraqi police fired tear gas and stun grenades to scatter hundreds of pro-Iranian protesters also gathered outside the Green Zone in the capital Baghdad, where the U.S. Embassy is located.
"Death to Israel, death to America," the protesters shouted. Pakistan and Iraq have the largest Shi'ite Muslim populations after Iran.
In Karachi, protesters were pushed back from the consulate, a spokesman for the local government said, after they set a vehicle ablaze outside the main gate and clashed with police.
At least nine people were killed, police said, but it was not immediately clear how. The U.S. Consulate in Karachi and the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad did not respond to requests for comment.
A diplomat in the compound said: "We're safe". Reuters reporters heard sounds of gunfire and saw tear gas being fired in streets around the compound. Video footage showed protesters holding pictures of Khamenei and chanting "Death to America" before the clashes erupted.