ehab al wazni and that flag over there as well. these are collectibles of some of the other martyrs from karbala. >> reporter: pictures of wazni are plastered across the square, a testament to his prominent role in the protest movement and a painful reminder that his killers are still at large. wazni, in the center, was the headf karbala's protest coordination committee and one of 35 prominent activists and protest leaders murdered across southern iraq in targeted assassinations. he was threatened many times >> ( translated ): we are threatened every day. letters are being sent to us from entities and people, threatening us to not remain in these squares. but we will stay by our blood and we will not let go. we will not sell iraq. >> reporter: the so-called october revolution began in 2019. across iraq's south, thousands of young iraqis demanded the toppling of the system installed by the united states following its 2003 invasion and the removal of an inept and corrupt ruling class that has failed to deliver basic services. they ra