Sweden temporarily moves Iraq embassy staff after storming

FILE PHOTO: Security forces deploy a water cannon as protesters gather near the Swedish embassy in Baghdad hours after the embassy was stormed and set on fire ahead of an expected Koran burning in Stockholm, in Baghdad, Iraq, July 20, 2023. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad/File Photo

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Seconded staff and operations at the Swedish embassy in Baghdad have been relocated temporarily to Stockholm for security reasons after it was stormed by protesters, the Swedish Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

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 attack and vandalise the embassy in the Iraqi capital.