Protesters attacked the Swedish embassy in central Baghdad in the early hours of Thursday morning. Some of the demonstrators climbed the walls of the diplomatic post and set it on fire in protest against the expected burning of the Koran in Sweden.
Hundreds of people stormed and set fire to the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in the early hours of Thursday morning in protest of another Quran burning outside the embassy Iraq in Sweden, Reuters reported.
All employees of the embassy in Baghdad were safe, the press office of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. MFA Sweden condemned the attack and stressed the need for Iraqi authorities to protect diplomatic missions.
Demonstrations against the expected burning of the Koran
Thursday’s demonstration was called by supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to protest against the expected burning of the Koran in Sweden.
Swedish news agency TT reported on Wednesday that the Swedish police granted a request for permission for a public demonstration outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm on Thursday.
According to the agency, two people were to take part in the demonstration, and one of them is the same person who set fire to a Koran in front of a Stockholm mosque in June.
Main photo source: REUTERS