An American construction worker arrested in Pakistan on suspicion of trying to hunt down and kill Osama bin Laden who said “I am not crazy”.

Gary Brooks Faulkner called as American Ninja is on the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.

Gary Brooks Faulkner, 50, was detained on Monday in the remote mountains of Chitral, once a rumoured hiding place of bin Laden, near Afghanistan’s Nuristan province, armed with a pistol, dagger, sword and night-vision equipment.

The bearded would-be hitman – quickly dubbed “the American Ninja” – was believed to be hunting down al-Qaeda figurehead bin Laden, the subject of a $US25 million ($29.14 million) bounty offered by the United States.

He is an independent contractor who has lived in Colorado since 1968, was angered by the September 11, 2001 attacks and “taunts” by bin Laden against Christianity.

When 9/11 happened, as a Christian he took that very personally, as did most of the country.

Faulkner who arrived in Pakistan as a tourist in the district of Chitral on June 3, checked into a hotel and was given the customary security escort, before he vanished.

US diplomats in Pakistan were notified that an American had been arrested and are working on getting consular access and meeting with the American citizen.