An American construction worker who was arrested with a sword, a pistol and night-vision goggles in northwestern Pakistan told investigators Tuesday that he wanted to kill Osama bin Laden to avenge the 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S.
Garry Brooks Faulkner, 52 years old, of California was caught by Pakistani police Monday in the remote Bumburat Valley near the border of Afghanistan’s Nuristan province, where he apparently hoped to find bin Laden.
Police quoted him as saying he wanted to avenge the victims of the attacks on New York and Washington. He was also carrying Christian religious books with him, according to Mumtaz Ahmed Khan, a senior police officer in the northwestern town of Chitral.
Mr. Faulkner arrived in Chitral on June 3 and stayed in a hotel in Bumburat Valley, an area famous for its spring dancing festival which attracts large number of foreign visitors every year. Mr. Faulkner arrived in Pakistan on a tourist visa, and police said it was his third trip to the area in the last five years.
Mr. Faulkner disappeared from his hotel on Sunday night, escaping the police guard that had been posted there for his security, a common service in the area.
He was seized from a forest in a high security zone close to the border after a 10-hour hunt. He carried a 40-inch sword, which he said he brought with him from California, and several rounds of pistol bullets, Mr. Khan said. Mr. Faulkner surrendered without any resistance and was flown to Peshawar Tuesday for further investigation.
Richard Snelsire, U.S. embassy spokesman, said the Peshawar consulate had been informed of the arrest of a U.S. citizen, adding that the embassy was seeking access to the detained American.
