Iraq expels Swedish ambassador over planned Holy Quran burning

Iraq expelled the Swedish ambassador on Thursday in protest at a planned burning of a copy of the Holy Quran in Stockholm that had prompted hundreds of protesters to storm and set alight the Swedish embassy in Baghdad.

An Iraqi government statement said Baghdad had also recalled its charge d'affaires in Sweden, and Iraq's state news agency reported that Iraq had suspended the working permit of Sweden's Ericsson on Iraqi soil.

Protesters, one of whom was an Iraqi immigrant to Sweden that burned a copy of the Holy Quran outside a Stockholm mosque in June, had applied for and received permission from Swedish police to burn a copy outside the Iraqi embassy on Thursday.

In the event, the protesters kicked and partially destroyed a book they said was a copy of the Holy Quran but left the area after one hour without setting it alight.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said embassy staff were safe but Iraqi authorities had failed in their responsibility to protect the embassy.

The Iraqi government strongly condemned the burning of the Swedish embassy, according to a statement from the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani which declared it a security breach and vowed to protect diplomatic missions.

But Baghdad had also "informed the Swedish government...that any recurrence of the incident involving the burning of the Holy Qur’an on Swedish soil would necessitate severing diplomatic relations", the statement said.

The decision to recall the charge d'affaires to Sweden came while the protest in Stockholm had started but before the protesters had left without burning a copy of the Holy Quran.