Arrests in Denmark foil potential terrorist attack

In Copenhagen an office block was the target for an alleged New Year attack.

It is the home of Danish daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten that outraged Muslims in 2005 when it published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

Four men have been detained after two raids in suburbs of the capital where police seized weapons and ammunition. Officials say the suspects planned to kill as many people as possible.

They had hired a car in Stockholm where a fifth man has been held. The police swoop came following months of surveillance and ended after they tailed the suspects in their rented vehicle.

Cartoonist Kurt Westegaard whose drawings were published in the paper now lives under police guard amid death threats.

“My first thoughts went out to my former colleagues. Thoughts of sympathy over the situation in which they find themselves,” he remarked.

The cartoons were published in 2005 to accompany an editorial criticising self-censorship in the Danish media. They sparked protests against Danish and European interests in the Middle East and at least 50 people died. Muslims believe any visual representation of the prophet is blasphemous.

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