Hundreds of protesters stormed the Iraqi Swedish embassy in Baghdad early Thursday, protesting the burning of a copy of the Koran in Stockholm. The protesters climbed the walls of the Swedish embassy and set fire to the building, but firefighters put out the flames.

The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a statement that all the employees of the embassy in Baghdad are safe, at the same time it condemned the attack and emphasized that the Iraqi authorities must protect diplomatic missions.

Thursday's demonstration may have been organized by the movement of Iraqi Shiite preacher Moktada al-Sadr, according to the Reuters news agency, according to Telegram posts linked to the group. Al-Sadr is one of Iraq's most influential religious preachers with hundreds of thousands of followers, who already besieged the heavily guarded government district of Baghdad, known as the Green Zone, last summer.

Footage circulating on social media shows protesters gathering in front of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad at dawn local time on Thursday and besieging the building not long after.

At the end of June, two men, including Salwan Momika of Iraqi origin, defaced and then burned a copy of the Koran in front of Stockholm's Central Mosque.

Due to the incident, several Muslim countries also asked the Swedish ambassador to voice their protest in person, and the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held an emergency meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, urging joint measures against further desecration of the Muslim holy book.

The Swedish government is considering making it a criminal offense to burn the Koran and other holy books as recent Koran burnings have harmed Sweden's security, Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer said on Thursday.

Hirado.hu