Alleged plot to kill Muhammad cartoonist foiled

Police in Ireland have arrested seven people over an alleged plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist who depicted the Prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog.

Irish police said four men and three women were detained across the south of the country in raids Tuesday morning.

The force says the arrests were part of an investigation into a "conspiracy to murder an individual in another jurisdiction."

The force offered the statement in response to a question about Lars Vilks, whom Britain's Press Association news agency identified as the target.

Police say the investigation involved law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and several European countries.

Al-Qaeda put a $100,000 bounty on Vilks' head after a newspaper ran his picture of Muhammad's head on a dog's body in 2007.