PESHAWAR (Pakistan) - An American armed with a pistol and a 40-inch sword was detained in northern Pakistan and told investigators he was on a solo mission to kill Osama bin Laden, a police officer said on Tuesday.
Watch video here
The man was identified as 52-year-old Californian construction worker Gary Faulkner, said officer Mumtaz Ahmad Khan.
He was picked up in a forest in the Chitral region late on Sunday, he said. 'We initially laughed when he told us that he wanted to kill Osama bin Laden,' said Mr Khan. But he said when officers seized the pistol, the sword and night vision equipment that 'our suspicion grew.'
He was questioned on Tuesday by intelligence officials in Peshawar, the main north-western city.
Faulkner told police he visited Pakistan seven times, and this was his third trip to Chitral.
Chitral is a remote, mountainous region close to the Afghan border. It is one of several rumored hiding places for the al-Qaeda leader. -- AP
