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Police in Pakistan have detained an armed 52-year-old American man for allegedly trying to cross the border into Afghanistan to hunt and kill fugitive al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden.

Pakistani authorities have identified the suspect as Gary Faulkner, a resident of California.

They say police arrested the man early this week in the northwestern mountainous district of Chitral, which borders Afghanistan's eastern Nuristan Province.

The suspect is said to have told his Pakistani investigators he was on a mission to kill Osama bin Laden because he considers the leader of the al-Qaida terrorist network a big threat to the United States.

Acting District Police Chief Mumtaz Ahmed Khan said the American was roaming in a village bordering Afghanistan when police captured him.

Khan said police have seized a pistol, 30 rounds of ammunition, a 102-centimeter sword, a dagger, night-vision camera, goggles and some Christian religious books. He added the U.S. citizen is being interrogated in the city of Peshawar.

U.S embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire said U.S. officials are in contact with Pakistani authorities to determine the identity of the detained man.

"I can confirm that earlier today our consulate in Peshawar was notified by the government of Pakistan that an American citizen was arrested," Snelsire said. "We are now seeking access to that individual, counselor visit, which we would normally do for anytime we have a report of an American citizen being arrested."

The spokesman declined to discuss if the detained man was out to kill Osama bin Laden, saying it would be premature to speculate on media reports without proper investigation.

The California man arrived in Pakistan on a tourist visa and is reported to have told investigators this is his seventh trip to the country.

U.S intelligence officials say al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden and his aides may be hiding in the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

— VOA NEWS