7 Muslims Arrested in Ireland in Plot to Kill Swedish Cartoonist

Breaking news from the BBC:

Seven people have been arrested in the Irish Republic over an alleged plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist for depicting the Prophet Muhammad, police say.

The four men and three women are all Muslim, according to media reports, though a police statement did not confirm this.

Cartoonist Lars Vilks had depicted the Prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog in the Nerikes Allehanda newspaper.

Islamic militants then put a $100,000 (£67,000) bounty on his head.

Irish police said the seven suspects were arrested after an investigation that also involved police in the US and other European countries.

The suspects ranged in age from their mid-20s to late-40s.

Ireland's RTE news network reported that five were detained in Waterford and two others in Cork.

An update from the BBC news site:

RTE said those in custody were originally refugees from Morocco and Yemen, but had gained asylum and were in the Republic of Ireland legally.

Mr Vilks has been under police protection in Sweden since threats were made against his life.

In 2007 a group linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq offered a $100,000 reward for killing Mr Vilks, and a 50% bonus if he was "slaughtered like a lamb" by having his throat cut.

It offered another $50,000 for the murder of Ulf Johansson, editor-in-chief of the regional newspaper, Nerikes Allehanda.