Three Arrested in Denmark in Plot to Kill Cartoonist

An assassination attempt has been thwarted with the arrest of two Tunisians and a Dane in Denmark on Tuesday.

One of 12 cartoonists who created caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in 2005, Kurt Westergaard, 73, was the target, according to THE NEW YORK TIMES.

He depicted Muhammad wearing a turban in the shape of a bomb with a burning fuse.

The arrests were made in raids in the city of Aarhus, where Westergaard's paper, JYLLANDS-POSTEN, is located.

The Danish suspect, 40 and of Moroccan origin, will likely be released after being charged under antiterrorism legislation and the two Tunisians will be expelled from Denmark.

Jakob Scharf, the head of the Security and Intelligence Service in Denmark, told THE NEW YORK TIMES the reason the suspect will be released could be that investigators want evidence to remain confidential.

Islam forbids all depictions of Muhammad, and the caricatures, printed in many Western publications, ignited protests and boycotts.