Police in Denmark say they have shot and wounded a Somali man with Al Qaeda links as he tried to break into the home of a cartoonist whose caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad sparked outrage among many Muslims in 2005.

Officers say the injured man was armed with a knife and an axe and will be charged with attempted murder.

Cartoonist Kurt Westergaard has recieved numerous death threats since his pictures, including one of Mohammad with a bomb in his turban, were published in the Jyllands-Posten newspaper.

It has been reported Westergaard activated a panic button at his home in Aarhus when the Somalian tried to break in.

Police say the intruder, who had a legal residence permit for Denmark, had been under surveillance and was suspected of being involved in terror-related activities in East Africa.

After Westergaard’s cartoons were published, riots broke out in several countries and some 50 people were killed.

Copyright © 2012 euronews