Suspected attacker placed in police custody

Copenhagen: A Somali man with suspected Al Qaida links has been charged with two counts of attempted murder after wielding an ax and a knife in the home of a Danish artist whose Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) cartoon outraged the Muslim world three years ago.

Rolled in on a stretcher before a Danish court on Saturday, the suspect was placed in custody for four weeks on preliminary charges of attempting to murder the cartoonist as well as a police officer.

The artist - 74-year-old Kurt Westergaard - was moved to an undisclosed location for his own protection after the attack at his home in Aarhus, Denmark's second largest city.

The suspect, described by authorities as a 28-year-old Somali with ties to Al Qaida, broke into the house late on Friday armed with an ax and a knife.