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A cartoonist with a $100,000 Al Qaeda bounty on his head for drawing the Prophet Muhammad as a dog died when a truck crashed into his car
Lars Vilks and his two police chaperones died after a truck smashed into their car in the southern Swedish town of Markaryd on Sunday.
International
A Swedish artist famous for a work depicting the Prophet Muhammad with a dog's body has been killed in a traffic crash, according to reports.
Lars Vilks was put under police protection in 2007 after he received death threats for publishing the drawing. At the time, Al Qaeda put a $100,000 bounty on his head and his house was fire-bombed.
Police in Sweden are investigating the details of the crash, and have said that so far they have found no evidence that it was intentional.
Any depiction of Muhammad is considered offensive in Islam, and cartoons showing him have prompted violent backlashes before. Some conservative Muslims also consider dogs unclean, so especially offensive.