Swedish embassy in Baghdad stormed by protesters after burning of Quran in Stockholm

Crowds gathered in the area after the desecration of a Quran in Stockholm on Wednesday

Followers of Moqtada Al Sadr storm the Swedish embassy in Baghdad. AP

Crowds of protesters broke into the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on Thursday, hours after radical cleric Moqtada Al Sadr called for demonstrations at the site.

It was not clear if diplomats were present or had been evacuated.

The protesters, some of whom waved the flag of Mr Al Sadr's militia group, Saraya Al Salaam, spent up to 15 minutes inside the embassy compound but dispersed after security forces reached the area, AFP reported.

Washington responded to the protest by calling for calm and urging "the government of Iraq to protect all diplomatic families".

The protest follows the burning of a Quran in front of Stockholm's largest mosque on Wednesday.

Mr Al Sadr, who has widespread support among Shiite Muslims in neglected parts of the country's south, and an impoverished area of Baghdad known as Sadr City, tweeted that Iraq should expel the Swedish ambassador.

"Expel the Swedish ambassador who represents his country that is hostile to Islam and supports immorality, and sever ties with it," he wrote.

Mr Al Sadr said the perpetrator, who has been identified by Swedish authorities as Iraqi citizen Salwan Momika, should be stripped of his citizenship and sent to Iraq for trial.

Iraq's Supreme Court Chief Justice Faiq Zaidan had previously called on Sweden to extradite Mr Momika.

Swedish police were present at what Mr Momika called a protest, but they later said that the the act had not caused "disturbances to order".

The police said an investigation had been opened over "agitation against an ethnic group" because he had staged his event so close to a mosque.

The US State Department condemned Mr Momika's actions.

"We believe the demonstration created an environment of fear that will impact the ability of Muslims and members of other religious minority groups from freely exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief in Sweden," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

Mr Miller was careful to add that while the US condemned the burning of the Quran, it respected "freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly".