Protesters storm the Swedish embassy in Baghdad

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Hundreds of protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in the early hours of Thursday, venting their anger over fears of Koran burning in Stockholm.

Footage on social media showed a group of men climbing over the compound’s fence and attempting to break down the embassy doors. Smoke was seen rising from a building in the embassy compound after protesters set it on fire.

Sweden’s foreign ministry said all its embassy staff were safe. “Attacks on embassies and diplomats are a serious violation of the Vienna Convention,” it said in a statement. “Iraqi authorities have responsibility for the safety of diplomatic missions and diplomatic staff.”

Swedish media reported this week that police in Stockholm allowed two men to protest outside the Iraqi embassy on Thursday, with some reports saying they planned to burn a copy of the Quran.

Sweden has one of the strongest safeguards for freedom of expression in Europe and has allowed such protests in the past even after riots broke out.

Iraq’s foreign ministry on Thursday condemned “in the strongest terms” the attack on the embassy and said security officials would immediately investigate. But he did not say how the protesters were able to gain access to the heavily guarded embassy compound.

Security forces used water cannons to disperse the protesters, while firefighters extinguished the fire. Small groups of protesters remained outside the embassy where they prayed before dawn.

Some protesters carried flags depicting influential Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr and chanted pro-Sadr slogans. Posts on pro-Sadr media revealed that his supporters had called for the protest.

The cleric leads millions of followers across Iraq and has sparked civil unrest in the past. Last summer his loyalists stormed Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone and engaged in deadly clashes with rival groups that left 30 dead and hundreds wounded.

Last month, a man who said he was an Iraqi Christian immigrant to Sweden burned a Quran outside a Stockholm mosque during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. The incident drew sharp reactions from the governments of Muslim countries including the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Jordan and Morocco.

Sadr called for the Swedish ambassador to be expelled.

The burning of the Quran is seen as blasphemous for many Muslims. In the past, the burning of holy scripture has led to violent protests around the world.