Denmark arrests 3 for targeting Prophet Muhammed cartoonist

(CNN) - Danish authorities said Tuesday they have arrested several people who allegedly were plotting a "terror-related assassination" of a cartoonist whose drawing of the Prophet Muhammed sparked rage in the Muslim world two years ago.

The Danish Security and Intelligence Service said police arrested a 40-year-old Dane of Moroccan origin and two Tunisians. The Danish citizen is charged with a terrorism offense, the intelligence service said, and the Tunisians will be deported. Police have not yet released the names of the three.

The operation took place in the Aarhus area of western Denmark at 4:30 a.m. (10:30 p.m. ET Monday) after lengthy surveillance, the intelligence service said.