The Swedish artist Lars Vilks, known for a controversial sketch of the Prophet Muhammad, died in a traffic accident Sunday, Swedish media reported.
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.