ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistani authorities said Tuesday that they had detained an American hunter in the lawless wilds along the Afghan border. His prey: Osama bin Laden.Police said they found Californian Gary Faulkner, 51, in a remote forest Monday, after he went missing from his tourist hotel in a scenic valley just across the border from Afghanistan's eastern Nurestan province. He was equipped with a 40-inch sword, a Chinese-made pistol, a dagger and night-vision goggles, officials said, and he claimed that he was on a mission to kill."He told police that he came here for killing Osama and to encourage US-led NATO forces in their fight against al-Qaida fighters," said Malik Naveed, police chief of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Faulkner was captured.A top police official in the region where Faulkner was found told the Associated Press that the American — identified as a construction worker — wanted to avenge those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The official said Faulkner also toted a book of Christian verses and a small amount of hashish, according to AP.
(photo credit: The Jerusalem Post)