Iraq expels Swedish ambassador over planned Koran burning

Protesters gather at the entrance to the Swedish embassy in Baghdad a day after a protestor burned a copy of the Quran in Sweden, Iraq, June 29, 2023. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad/File Photo


BAGHDAD/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Iraq expelled the Swedish ambassador on Thursday in protest at a planned burning of the Koran 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.