Hundreds of followers of an Iraqi Shiite cleric Wednesday stormed the Iranian consulate in Basra, some 550 km south of Baghdad, throwing stones and setting fire at a building in the diplomatic complex.

Followers of Ayatollah Mahmoud al-Hassani al-Sarkhi were protesting against the Iranian interference in Iraq's internal affairs and a program shown on Iranian television that accused their cleric leader of being an Israeli agent, media reports from Basra said.

According to the reports, the protesters, chanting slogans against the Iranian satellite channel, climbed the roof of the consulate and raised the Iraqi flag to replace the Iranian flag.

The protesters also stoned the consulate complex and rushed into the buildings after a Shiite cleric read a statement before the crowd, demanding apology from the Iranian government.

They destroyed the furniture of the complex and set fire into the reception room, said the reports, adding columns of black smoke rose over the diplomatic complex in Basra, which is patrolled by the British troops.

Editor: Yan