Anti-Islam film: Afghan cleric offers cash for producer's death

Husaini joins Pakistan's minister Bilour in announcing bounty for maker of the blasphemous movie.

KABUL: An Afghan cleric has offered rewards totalling $400,000 for anyone killing the producer of a US-made anti-Islam film and a French cartoonist who drew caricatures of holy prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

“I have offered $300,000 to anyone who kills the anti-Islam film producer and $100,000 for killing the French cartoonist," Mir Faroq Husaini, a prominent cleric in the western province of Herat, told AFP Sunday.

Husaini said he had first announced the reward during a sermon on Friday in a large mosque in the city.

"I will sell all my properties, including my lands in Herat, to collect the money," he said.

The "Innocence of Muslims", a crudely made film that mocks Islam, triggered violent protests in at least 20 countries including Afghanistan after excerpts were posted online last month.

Immediately after the film gained notoriety, French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published cartoons caricaturing the Muslim prophet.

Pakistan railways minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour last month placed a $100,000 bounty on the head of the maker of the film.

Bilour also called on the Taliban and al Qaeda to join the hunt and help accomplish the "noble deed".