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Four still held over 'murder plot'

Gardaí are continuing to question four people arrested in connection with an international investigation into an alleged plot to murder Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks.

The four were arrested earlier this week in Waterford and Cork. Three other people arrested in relation to the alleged plot were released yesterday.

A man and woman were released from custody yesterday. The two, who were detained at Dungarvan Garda station, were released without charge.

Another woman who had been detained in Tramore was also released yesterday. A file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Mr Vilks, whose cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed with the body of a dog were printed in the Swedish Nerikes Allehanda newspaper in August 2007, has been under threat of death from Iraqi members of the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda.

US caretaker Colleen LaRose, who styled herself Jihad Jane in a YouTube video, has been charged with plotting his murder bid.

The suspect was accused in the US on Tuesday of conspiring with jihadist fighters and pledging to commit murder in the name of a Muslim holy war, or jihad.

According to the US Justice Department, the 46-year-old, who also goes by the name Fatima LaRose, plotted with five others in South Asia, Eastern and Western Europe and the US to recruit men on the internet to wage violent jihad in South Asia and Europe.

They are also accused of recruiting women online to travel to and around Europe supporting violent jihad.

It is understood LaRose agreed to marry an online contact from South Asia so he could move to Europe.

If convicted of the charges against her, Ms LaRose faces a potential sentence of life in prison and a $1 million fine.

Additional reporting PA