Pakistan Arrests US Man on Solo Mission to Kill bin Laden

(June 15) -- A California Colorado (see update below) construction worker armed with a pistol, a 3-foot-long sword and night-vision goggles has been arrested roaming northern Pakistan on a self-described solo mission to kill Osama bin Laden, Pakistani officials said today.

They identified the man as 52-year-old 50-year-old Gary Faulkner, who told investigators he's been to Pakistan seven times. He apparently has no connection to the U.S. military.

"We initially laughed when he told us that he wanted to kill Osama bin Laden," police officer Mumtaz Ahmad Khan told The Associated Press. But then when authorities found his sword and night-vision gear, "our suspicion grew," he said.

Pakistan's Dawn News quoted investigators as saying Faulkner told them he was trying to cross the border into Afghanistan on "a mission to decapitate Osama bin Laden."

Faulkner carried a book with Christian verses and teachings, Khan said.

When Faulkner was asked why he thought he could catch bin Laden, Khan told AP he answered: "God is with me, and I am confident I will be successful in killing him."

Faulkner, who suffers from kidney problems and high blood pressure, arrived as a tourist in the Chitral district, checked into a hotel and received a security escort, Agence France-Presse reported, citing police.

"On Sunday night, our security guard noticed that Gary had disappeared. A search operation was launched and we found him 14 kilometers [nine miles] short of the Pakistan-Afghan border. He was trying to enter Nuristan," Khan told AFP.

"He said 9/11 caused colossal losses to the U.S., therefore he wanted to locate Osama bin Laden and his friends," said Khan, describing Faulkner of sound mind.

It's the first known case of an American arrested in Pakistan for allegedly trying to fight against Islamic militants there. There have been several high-profile cases of Americans accused of trying to connect with Taliban or al-Qaida militants to join the fight against U.S. troops in neighboring Afghanistan.

Faulkner was picked up by police in Pakistan's northern Chitral region late Sunday, on suspicion of trying to cross the border into Afghanistan illegally. He hasn't been charged, and is being questioned today by intelligence officials in Peshawar, northern Pakistan's largest city.

Chitral is one of several remote, mountainous tribal areas where the al-Qaida chief is rumored to be hiding.

Faulkner had been in Chitral for 10 days before vanishing, AFP said. "Gary said he bought his pistol locally and the rest of the equipment from California, but there was no entry for this equipment on his travel documents," Khan told AFP.

UPDATE: Faulkner's family said he was born in California but moved to Colorado in 1968 and that he is 50, not 52, as originally reported.