Al-Qaeda Puts Price on Head of Cartoonist

$100,000 for murder of Swede who drew offensive image
By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 16, 2007 5:01 PM CDT
Al-Qaeda Puts Price on Head of Cartoonist
Angry Pakistani protesters burn an effigy of Swedish prime minister to condemn the publication of a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad in a Swedish newspaper, Friday, Aug. 31, 2007, in Karachi, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)   (Associated Press)

An al-Qaeda affiliate is offering a reward to slaughter a Swedish cartoonist who drew an image offensive to Muslims. In an online statement, Islamic State in Iraq offered $100,000 for Lars Vilks' murder and $50,000 for that of the newspaper editor who published the cartoon. The reward escalated to $150,000 should Vilks "be slaughtered like a lamb."

Vilks' August cartoon depicted the head of the Prophet Mohammed on a dog's body, ABC says. The cartoonist said he sketched the image to protest Swedish art galleries who’d refused to display it. The men said they were taking the threats seriously, but one quipped, “I was a little disappointed by the low price on my head.” (More Islamist extremists stories.)

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