Swedish cartoonist leaves home....

How long will he be on the run???

Police have told Swedish artist Lars Vilks that it is not safe for him to remain at his home in southern Sweden following threats on his life from an al-Qaeda front organization in Iraq.

The artist behind a controversial caricature of the Muslim prophet Muhammad was only allowed access to his home outside Nyhamnsläge after police had conducted a thorough search on Monday morning.

Police allowed the artist to pick up a few belongings but told him that they did not want him staying there in the foreseeable future.

"I'm prepared to move somewhere else," Vilks told news agency TT.