The Swedish cartoonist, who angered the Muslims of the world by portraying the Prophet of Islam, was killed in a car accident on the road near the town of Marcarid on the night of the Prophet's death in southern Sweden.

According to the Iran Cartoon website, the Mehr news agency quoted the Associated Press as saying: Lars Wilkes, a Swedish cartoonist who had painted an insulting image of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and angered the Muslim world, was killed in a car accident.

He was hit by a truck while driving with two bodyguards on a road near the southern Swedish town of Markarid, killing all on board.

The 75-year-old cartoonist lived under police protection after taking pictures of the Prophet of Islam and facing the wrath of Muslims.

Wilkes' cartoon was published in 2007 and has been under Swedish police protection ever since.

The cartoon was published in a Danish newspaper a year after the Prophet's cartoons were published.

The driver of the tractor is said to be currently hospitalized and a police statement said it was not yet clear how the accident happened.