BASRA, Iraq – A roadside bomb targeted a joint Danish-Iraqi military patrol near the southern city of Basra on Monday _ the first attack on Danish troops since protests against a Danish newspaper for publishing widely criticized caricatures of Islam's prophet.
There were no casualties in the attack, which occurred as the troops crossed a bridge in a rural area about 60 miles north of Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, police Capt. Mushtaq Talib said.
British Maj. Peter Cripps said coalition forces are investigating if there was any link between the attack and September's publication by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten of cartoons of Prophet Muhammad deemed offensive by many Muslims.
"The Danish patrols have made no change in activities since the caricatures were published, but clearly they will put some more attention on the local population and how they feel about the Danish presence here," Cripps said.
About 430 Danish troops are in Iraq, based in the northern part of Basra province, a predominantly Shiite Muslim region that has been calmer than other parts of Iraq, despite periodic spikes in sectarian- and militia-related violence.
The 12 drawings included one showing Muhammad wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse. Another portrayed him with a bushy gray beard and holding a sword, his eyes covered by a black rectangle. A third pictured a middle-aged prophet standing in the desert with a walking stick in front of a donkey and a sunset.
The images touched off wide protest across Iraq and throughout the Islamic world. Islamic tradition bars any depiction of the prophet, even respectful ones, out of concern that such images could lead to idolatry.
Jyllands-Posten has refused to apologize for the drawings, citing freedom of speech. The drawings were reprinted on Jan. 10 by Norwegian evangelical newspaper Magazinet in the name of defending free expression, renewing Muslim anger.
Also Monday, masked gunmen briefly took over a European Union office in the Gaza Strip to protest the publication of the cartoons. The gunmen demanded an apology from Denmark and Norway, and said citizens of the two countries would be prevented from entering the Gaza Strip.
"We are calling on the citizens of the two countries to take this threat seriously because our cells are ready to implement this all over Gaza," one militant said.
Associated Press Writer Ibrahim Barzak contributed to this report from the Gaza Strip.
