Hundreds of protesters stormed the Swedish embassy compound in Baghdad – the capital of Iraq – and set fire to the building in the early hours of the morning, a Reuters source said and a reporter from the same news agency found on the ground.

The source assured that no member of the Swedish diplomatic delegation was injured, and refrained from giving further details.

An embassy representative was not immediately available for comment.

Supporters of the Shiite preacher Moqtada Sadr were called to the demonstration, ahead of the expected new burning of the Koran in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, as part of a rally that the Swedish authorities decided to allow.

An earlier burning of a copy of the Koran in front of the largest Islamic mosque in the Swedish capital by an Iraqi sparked protests, demonstrations and condemnation from much of the Muslim world.

Videos uploaded to the Telegram platform by supporters of Moqtada Sadr show people gathering at the Swedish embassy around 01:00 [σ.σ. τοπική ώρα και ώρα Ελλάδας] before storming the building about an hour later.

Smoke is then shown rising from a building in the embassy compound.

It is unclear if members of the Swedish diplomatic staff were in the building when the protesters stormed the building.