Police arrests American hunting for Osama bin Laden

Police detained an American for allegedly trying to sneak into Afghanistan to hunt and kill al Qaeda head Osama bin Laden, officials said on Tuesday.

Gary Faulkner, 40, was caught in the Brumboret Valley near the border of Afghanistan's Nuristan province and was being questioned, Chitral police Chief Jaffer Khan said. He was armed with a dagger, a pistol and night vision googles.

"He was roaming in the security zone in a suspicious manner. He had a dagger and night vision goggles with him. He is being investigated," Khan said.

Mumtaz Ahmed, a senior police investigator, said Faulkner was also carrying a pistol and was hunting bin Laden because he suffered personal losses in the September 11, 2001 attacks.

An intelligence official in Chitral, who asked not to be identified, said Faulkner shouted "don't come closer to me or I'll open fire!" when approached.

Faulkner arrived in Chitral on June 3 and was staying in a local hotel, Ahmed said.

"He says that he is a kidney patient. He was also carrying medicines for kidney and blood pressure treatment," Ahmed said.

US embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire said the Peshawar consulate had been informed of the arrest of a US citizen and added the embassy was seeking access to the detained American.

If confirmed, this would mark one of the first instances of an American entering Pakistan and Afghanistan on his own to fight against al Qaeda and other militants.