U.S. bin Laden hunter on 'mission from God'

ISLAMABAD (AP) — An American construction worker detained in Pakistan while on a solo mission to kill Osama bin Laden claimed today that he was obeying an order from God to avenge the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, said Pakistani security officials.

Gary Brooks Faulkner said God revealed the order in one of his dreams, prompting him to travel to Pakistan in search of al-Qaida's leader, said two security officials, one of whom is part of a team of investigators questioning the American.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Catching bin Laden was 50-year-old Faulkner's passion, his brother Scott Faulkner said. A devout Christian with a prison record, Faulkner has been to Pakistan at least six times, learned some of the local language, and even grew a long beard to blend in, relatives and acquaintances said.

"Our military has not been able to track Osama down yet. It's been 10 years," Scott Faulkner told reporters in Denver. "It's easier as a civilian, dressed in the local dress, to infiltrate the inside, the local people, gain their confidence and get information and intel that you couldn't get as an American soldier, Navy SEAL, whoever you might be."