Iraq expels Swedish ambassador as protester desecrates Koran in Sweden

Protester Salwan Momika appears outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm (Oscar Olsson/TT/AP)

Iraq’s Prime Minister ordered the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador from Iraq and the withdrawal of the Iraqi charge d’affaires from Sweden as a protester desecrated of a copy of the Koran in Stockholm.

The diplomatic flare-up came hours after protesters angered by the planned burning of a copy of the Islamic holy book stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad early on Thursday, breaking into the compound and lighting a small fire.