Yahoo TV

STORY: Hundreds of people stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in the early hours of Thursday, setting it on fire in protest at the expected burning of the Koran in Sweden.

The demonstration was called by supporters of Shi’ite cleric Muqtada Sadr, according to posts in a Telegram group linked to the cleric.

Sadr is one of Iraq’s most powerful figures who commands hundreds of thousands of followers.

Eyewitness video showed demonstrators carrying his portrait and chanting pro-Sadr slogans.

The Swedish foreign ministry said all embassy staff were safe and condemned the attack.

Iraq’s foreign ministry issued a similar condemnation, vowing to conduct a swift investigation to identify the perpetrators and hold them to account.

The protest was staged after Swedish police on Wednesday granted an application for a public meeting outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm. Police said in the permit two people were expected to participate.

According to local reports, the two planned to burn the Koran and the Iraqi flag at the public meeting, and included a man who previously set a Koran on fire outside a Stockholm mosque.

That action in June sparked massive protests in several Muslim countries, including Iraq, with Baghdad seeking the man's extradition to face trial in the country.

The United States also condemned it, but added that Sweden's issuing of the permit supported freedom of expression and was not an endorsement of the action.