Seven protesters were killed Saturday in Iraq as security forces cleared protest sites in Baghdad and Basra after political leaders agreed to stand by the embattled government by any means.

The leaders also agreed to put an end to rallies rocking Iraq's capital and its south since October 1 and demanding an overhaul of the political system. The crackdown began in the morning when security forces wrested back control from demonstrators of three bridges spanning the River Tigris in the heart of Baghdad.

Iraqi forces then moved towards Tahrir (Liberation) Square, ground zero for the month-long movement demanding government change, firing live rounds and tear gas.

Three demonstrators died from bullet wounds and a fourth when a tear gas canister pierced his skull, medics and police sources said. And another three protesters were killed and dozens wounded in the southern city of Basra as security forces cleared a protest camp outside the provincial government headquarters. Security forces also rounded up demonstrators in Basra.

The bloodshed came after political leaders agreed to rally around Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, whose embattled government was threatened by the largest and deadliest grassroots protests in Iraq in decades.

Abdel Mahdi, 77, came to power last year through a shaky alliance between populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and Hadi al-Ameri, a leader of the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary network. When the protests first erupted in October, Sadr threw his weight behind them while the Hashed backed the government.

But they closed rank around the premier this week after a series of meetings led by Major General Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's foreign operations arm. Soleimani, who often plays a mediating role during times of crisis in Iraq, met Sadr and persuaded him to return to the fold.

Political factions agreed this week to move forward on reforms and constitutional amendments if the premier and government stayed in place.

"They agreed to end the protests with any means possible and to reopen the bridges and shuttered streets," said a senior member of a party represented at the gathering.

Abdel Mahdi met President Barham Saleh on Saturday for the first time in days. Ties between them had been cut after Saleh proposed the premier be replaced. And on Saturday parliament convened to discuss reform proposals, including hiring drives and increased welfare payouts.

Oil-rich Iraq is OPEC's second biggest producer, but one in five people live in poverty and youth unemployment stands at 25 percent, the World Bank says. Those staggering rates sparked the first wave of protests on October 1, and public anger quickly spiralled into calls for the overhaul of the entire ruling system.

It is the biggest and most complex challenge in years to the political order and around 300 people have been killed in the protests.

Protesters say the current framework allows political parties to dole out government jobs based on affiliation and bribes, choking out independents in a country with a weak private sector. They are demanding profound reform and constitutional amendments.

(With input from Reuters and AFP)