Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who stirred worldwide controversy killed in car accident

Vilks had been living under round-the-clock police guard following

threats against his life.

STOCKHOLM ( Web News )

Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who stirred worldwide controversy in 2007 with drawings depicting the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) with the body of a animal, was killed in a car crash near the southern town of Markaryd on Sunday, police said. Vilks, 75, who had been living under police protection since the drawings were published, was travelling in a police vehicle which collided with a truck. Two police officers were also killed.

“This is a very tragic incident. It is now important to all of us that we do everything we can to investigate what happened and what caused the collision,” Swedish police said in a statement on Monday. “Initially, there is nothing that points to anyone else being involved.”

A view of a scene after an accident between a car and a lorry in which three people died, including Swedish artist Lars Vilks, outside the town Markaryd in Sweden October 3, 2021. Most Muslims consider any depiction of the founder of Islam as offensive.

Since the publication of the cartoons, Vilks had been living under round-the-clock police guard following threats against his life. He had a bounty put on his head and his house was fire-bombed.

In 2015, one person was killed in Copenhagen, Denmark, at a meeting meant to mark the 25th anniversary of an Iranian fatwa against British writer Salman Rushdie, which Vilks attended.

Vilks was widely seen as the intended target.