Iraqi protesters attempt to storm Danish embassy over Qur’an burning

Hundreds of protesters have clashed with security forces in Iraq as they tried to storm the Danish embassy in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone in reaction to reports of a Quran burning in the Nordic country.

Iraqi security forces fired tear gas to disperse around 1,000 demonstrators on Saturday, following reports that a far-right group had burned a copy of the holy Muslim book in front of the Iraqi Embassy in Copenhagen a day earlier.

They blocked the Jumhuriya Bridge that leads to the Green Zone and prevented the protesters from reaching the Danish embassy.

The protesters waved Iraqi flags, chanted slogans in support of prominent Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and shouted “Yes, yes to the Qur’an!”

Another protest is planned for later in the day.

The development came after members of the ultra-nationalist “Danish Patriots” group set fire to a book purported to be the Qur’an, as well as an Iraqi flag in front of the Iraqi Embassy in Copenhagen, livestreaming the action on Facebook.