In Baghdad, protesters stormed and set fire to the Swedish embassy

According to Reuters, hundreds of demonstrators broke into the Swedish embassy in Baghdad and set it on fire early Thursday morning, according to sources familiar with the situation.

None of the employees of the diplomatic mission was injured. Confirmation of this information came from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which called the incident a serious violation of the Vienna Convention.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry condemned the act of arson. The country's authorities have instructed the relevant security services to conduct an urgent investigation and take all necessary measures to identify the circumstances of the incident and identify the perpetrators.

The demonstration took place before the expected burning of the Koran in Stockholm. Previously, Agence France-Presse reported that the Swedish police issued a permit to hold an action with the burning of the holy book of Muslims at the Iraqi embassy in the capital of the Scandinavian country.

At the beginning of July, we recall that the Swedish police received three requests to conduct in Actions to burn religious books in Stockholm and Helsingborg. Two actions were planned to be held in Stockholm and another one in Helsingborg. During one of the actions, it was supposed to burn the Koran at the Stockholm mosque. The organizer of the action was going to hold it «as soon as possible.» A 50-year-old local resident intends to organize it.