A German newspaper that reprinted controversial cartoons from French paper Charlie Hebdo depicting Prophet Mohammed has been the target of an arson attack early on Sunday.

According to police in the northern German city, no one was hurt in the attack on the headquarters of the regional tabloid daily Hamburger Morgenpost that occurred about 2 am local time (0100 GMT), AFP reported.

The newswire quoted a police spokesman as saying that rocks and then an incendiary device were thrown through the window.

"Two rooms on lower floors were damaged but the fire was put out quickly," according to the spokesman.

Two people seen behaving suspiciously in the area at the time of the attack had been arrested.

Hamburger Morgenpost reprinted three cartoons from the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on its front page after Wednesday's massacre in Paris, running the headline “This much freedom must be possible!”, according to AFP.

Hamburger Morgenpost, which has a circulation of about 91,000, said on its website that a link between the arson attack and the reprinting of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons was still under investigation.

The attack on Charlie Hebdo left 12 people dead and was followed by the fatal shooting of a police officer on Thursday, and the deaths of four hostages during a siege at a Jewish supermarket on Friday.