Scores protested outside the French embassy in Iraq's capital Baghdad on Thursday to condemn Paris-based magazine Charlie Hebdo's decision to republish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.

The satirical weekly reprinted the controversial images to mark the start of the trial earlier this month of alleged accomplices to a massacre at its headquarters over five years ago.

Twelve people, including some of France's most celebrated cartoonists, were killed on January 7, 2015, when brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi went on a gun rampage at the paper's offices in Paris.

Images of the prophet are banned in Islam.

On Thursday, around 150 protesters including women and children gathered at the gates of the French embassy in east Baghdad to protest against the republication.

"We denounce the repeated insults from the French media against our prophet," read one banner, in Arabic.

Iraqi security forces carrying riot shields were deployed in large numbers at the embassy gates, but the protest lasted less than half an hour and remained peaceful.

But diplomatic missions in Iraq have faced a slew of armed attacks in recent weeks.

Late Monday, two Katyusha rockets were fired at the US embassy in the high-security Green Zone, on the opposite bank of the Tigris from the French embassy.

The embassy's C-RAM rocket defence system shot both down, security sources told AFP.

Hours later, an improvised explosive device targeted a British embassy vehicle returning from Baghdad airport.

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Three Western targets in Iraq attacked in 24 hours: sources
Baghdad (AFP) Sept 15, 2020
Three separate attacks in 24 hours have targeted Western diplomatic or military installations in Iraq, security and diplomatic sources said Tuesday, hinting at a new escalation between authorities and rogue groups. While no casualties were reported in any of the attacks, Iraqi officials told AFP they see the spike as an indirect way to pressure the government as it tries to fight graft. On Tuesday morning, an improvised explosive device targeted a British embassy vehicle returning from Baghdad a ... read more