Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who sketched the caricature of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in 2007 and two police officers guarding him, died in a car crash yesterday.
Vilks, 75, received several death threats after the controversial sketch and had a $100,000 bounty placed on his head by an al-Qaida faction in Iraq.
Vilks’ vehicle, a civilian police car, collided with a truck and caught fire Sunday afternoon.
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The three of them were burnt to ashes. According to reports, the truck driver was taken to hospital.
The Swedish police confirmed the incident to AFP.
“This is being investigated like any other road accident. Because two policemen were involved, an investigation has been assigned to a special section of the prosecutor’s office,” a police spokesperson told AFP, adding that there was no suspicion of foul play.
The accident occurred near the small town Markaryd when the car Vilks was travelling in crashed into an oncoming truck. Both vehicles caught fire and the truck driver was hospitalised, according to police.
In a statement, the police said the cause of the accident was unclear.
“The person we were protecting and two colleagues died in this inconceivable and terribly sad tragedy,” said regional police head Carina Persson, Times Now News reports.
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