Sweden's ambassador to Iraq was expelled on Thursday in response to a planned Koran burning in Stockholm, which prompted hundreds of protesters to attack and burn the Swedish embassy in Baghdad.
According to an Iraqi official announcement, Baghdad also recalled its charge d'affaires in Sweden, and Iraq's state news agency stated that Iraq had terminated Ericsson's working permission on Iraqi soil.
Anti-Islam protestors burned the Koran outside a Stockholm mosque in June, had allegedly requested and were granted permission from Swedish police to burn the Koran outside the Iraqi embassy on Thursday.
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In the incident, the demonstrators kicked and partially destroyed a book they claimed to be the Koran before fleeing the scene after an hour without putting it on fire.
Muslims believe that the Koran, Islam's core sacred text, is a revelation from God.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom stated that the diplomatic staff was secure but Iraqi authorities had failed to safeguard the post.
According to a statement from the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, the burning of the Swedish embassy was a security breach, and the Iraqi government committed to defend diplomatic missions.
The decision to recall the charge d'affaires to Sweden was made shortly after the protest in Stockholm began but before the protestors left without burning the Koran.
The storming of the embassy, according to Billstrom, was "completely unacceptable, and the government strongly condemns these attacks."
He said, "The government is in contact with high-level Iraqi representatives to express our dismay."
The State Department in Washington harshly condemned the embassy attack and chastised Iraqi security personnel for failing to prevent protestors from invading the diplomatic facility.
