Protesters storm Sweden's embassy in Iraq over Quran burning

NEW YORK

Protesters in Iraq stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad and set it on fire early Thursday over the burning of the Quran.

The action by the followers of Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr came after Salwan Momika burned a copy of the Muslim holy book under police protection in front of the Stockholm Mosque in Sweden last month, which was widely condemned in Muslim countries.

Videos circulating online showed hundreds of protesters breaching Sweden's embassy and waving flags and chanting.

Smoke was rising from the embassy building, according to an Anadolu reporter in Iraq.