American is held in bid to kill Osama bin Laden
AN AMERICAN armed with a pistol and a 40in sword has been arrested in Pakistan while on a solo mission to kill Osama bin Laden.
Construction worker Gary Brooks Faulkner, 52, who was also carrying a book of Christian verses and teachings, told police: “God is with me and I am confident I will be successful in killing him.”
One policeman said: “We laughed when he told us he wanted to kill Osama bin Laden.”
But when his arsenal, which also included a dagger and night-vision equipment, was found the officer said: “Our suspicion grew.”
Californian Faulkner was picked up in a forest in the border region of Chitral and had planned to cross into the Afghan province of Nuristan.
They are both among several rumoured hiding places for the Al Qaeda leader, accused of being behind the 9/11 attacks, who has evaded a huge US hunt for him since 2001, despite a bounty of £17million being offered for information leading to his capture.
He told police he had visited Pakistan seven times and this was his third trip to Chitral, where on his arrival he had been given a police guard. But he gave them the slip at his hotel and he was found only after a 10-hour hunt.
US Embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire said they had been notified of the arrest of an American citizen. Officials were trying to meet him to confirm his identity.