The United States strongly condemned Thursday the attack by protesters on Sweden’s embassy in Baghdad, saying it was “unacceptable” that Iraqi security forces did little to protect the mission.

“It is unacceptable that Iraqi Security Forces did not act to prevent protestors from breaching the Swedish Embassy compound for a second time and damaging it”, AFP quoted State Department spokesman Matthew Miller as saying.

The attack came ahead of a planned Quran-burning protest in Stockholm, the second in less than a month, which the Iraqi government condemned.

Miller said in a statement that freedom to protest is an essential part of democracy. “But what occurred last night was an unlawful act of violence,” he said of the attack.

“Foreign missions should not be targets of violence,” he said.

Miller called on the Iraqi government to live up to its obligations under international law to protect foreign diplomatic missions.